Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 7,622, settled in 1836.
Pocahontas earns a D, 92nd among Arkansas's 123 graded towns, mostly because of health and incomes. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 98% of the country. The median household income is $44K, and 24% of residents live below the poverty line. What it does well: a typical home costs about $144K, 2.8 years of the county’s $51K median household income. 36% of working residents work locally in Pocahontas, above both the Arkansas town median (21%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Pocahontas is home to Black River Technical College. On civic life, just 18 of Arkansas’ 182 towns do better.
Where Pocahontas beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 325 in 1880, 7,371 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1930 and 3 maps from 1935 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arkansas), ordered by how far Pocahontas is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Pocahontas, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Pocahontas.
Pocahontas has seen reported crime fall by a fifth or more and has more 90° days than most of the country, though not than most of Arkansas; it also has a long record of flood insurance claims.
41% of adults get no exercise outside work in Pocahontas. Pocahontas beats the Arkansas average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 18. 20% of adults report frequent physical distress in Pocahontas.
| Pocahontas | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 34% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 25% | 19% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 19% | 17% |
| What stands out | Pocahontas | AR |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 29.8% | 18.6% |
| More adults with COPD | 12.2% | 8.6% |
| More smokers | 21.4% | 15.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Pocahontas School District. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Pocahontas High School, with 410 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pocahontas Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 703 | – |
| Pocahontas Junior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–9 | Grades 7–9 | 456 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AR on state tests and graduation
3.2 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves.
| Pocahontas | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.4% | 0.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Black River Overlook Park | 0.9 mi | 13 |
| 2. Thomas O'Marr Park | — | 17 |
| 3. River Front Park | 0.1 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Reported crimes fell from 215 to 154 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Pocahontas is 17.6 per 1,000 residents. Within Arkansas, it does better than 44% of towns. The violent crime rate in Pocahontas is 2.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Pocahontas | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 17.6 per 1,000 residents | 13.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.2 per 1,000 residents | 3.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
88 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 15 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 82% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 88 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Pocahontas.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At about $144K, home values are up 2% in five years, against a rise of 20% across Arkansas.
Pocahontas’ median rent is $768 a month. The typical Pocahontas home is worth about $144,000, up 1.3% in a year, 36% below the Arkansas typical home. 59% of Pocahontas households own their home.
| Pocahontas | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 59% | 60% | 73% |
| Median rent | $768 a month | $880 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Pocahontas 1 weather station records that about 51 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 80% of Arkansas places with climate records. July afternoons average 90.2°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 77% of Arkansas places with climate records; January nights average 27.5°.
Pocahontas has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. About 6 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Pocahontas | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 90°F | 92°F | 85°F |
| January low | 28°F | 30°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 2,600 working residents takes 15.8 minutes, against 22.5 across Arkansas.
About one in 3 of Pocahontas’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Pocahontas has added 496 jobs, to 3,640 in 2023. The top destinations are Jonesboro (10%), Walnut Ridge (6%) and Paragould (4%).
| Pocahontas | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $44,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 6.6% | 6.1% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
2 within 15 miles of the center of Pocahontas
About 2 of every 100 Pocahontas residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Arkansas.
6,608 counted in 2010 and 7,371 in 2020; an estimated 7,622 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
8 places in Pocahontas on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in Pocahontas.
City in Arkansas, United States
Pocahontas is a city in and the county seat of Randolph County, Arkansas, United States, along the Black River. As of the 2020 census, Pocahontas had a population of 7,371. Pocahontas has a number of historic buildings, including the Old Randolph County Courthouse built in 1871, the St. Mary's AME Church, and the Pocahontas Colored School built in 1918, the latter of which is now home to the Eddie Mae Herron Center.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Pocahontas grades D overall, better than 6% of U.S. towns and #92 of 123 in Arkansas. It grades D− for health, C− for safety and C+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within Arkansas, it does better than 44% of towns.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
8 notable people were born here, including Billy Lee Riley and Jim Johnston.
