Little Rock, the state capital · Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0How Arkansas stacks up
In Arkansas, On the plus side, easy commutes; on the minus side, poor health (24% of adults in fair or poor health) and a renters’ market (66% of homes owner-occupied). That balance adds up to a C− overall and 39th place among the 50 states and D.C. Only two states charge homeowners less in property tax: in Arkansas, the typical property-tax bill is $1,040.
Each subject puts the official state figure beside a measure built from our town grades. How this works
Safety
42nd of 51C−18/100 Crime runs high here. At 535 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, Arkansas sits 4th highest among the states. 75% of residents live in bottom-quarter towns, among them Little Rock and Fayetteville.
With property crime counted (property + 4 × violent), it places 6th highest.
Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer, state estimate 2025.
Measure: reported crime per resident over the engine’s three crime years (property + 4 × violent), as in our Safety grades. 39 Arkansas towns of 10,000+ against 3,410 nationally.
The big places weigh on the total
Centerton leads its towns at #459 of 3,410 nationally, with Bella Vista and Farmington close behind. Fort Smith, Springdale and Jonesboro sit at the high-crime end of the national ranking. Its towns tell a different story from the state total: 28th of 48 town by town, 4th highest statewide.
| State | Safest quarter | Most-crime quarter | Split |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire | 42% | 0% | |
| Rhode Island | 37% | 0% | |
| New Jersey | 35% | 20% | |
| Pennsylvania | 29% | 37% | |
| Maine | 29% | 15% | |
| Arkansas | 5% | 75% |
Nearly every town counted
In Arkansas, 99% of residents of 10,000+ towns are covered. One town, Hot Springs Village, has too few years reported and sits out. Among its neighbors, Tennessee counts the most (97%) and Louisiana the least (40%).
Schools
26th of 51B−50/100 Middle of the pack for schools. Town by town it lands near the middle, with Bentonville its best at #970 of 5,230. Compared with 31% nationally, 26% of its 4th and 8th graders test Proficient.
On-time graduation, 89.9% (7th highest), weighs equally with test results in the grade.
It spends $13,585 per pupil, 12th lowest (context only; spending isn’t graded).
Source: NCES, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2024, public schools; EDFacts graduation rates; Census school finance.
Measure: graduation rate and test results, averaged; each district’s state-test proficiency is put on the NAEP yardstick (its result ÷ the state average × the state’s NAEP proficiency) so districts compare across states. 40 Arkansas towns of 10,000+ against 5,230 nationally.
Cost of living
3rd of 51A+96/100 Affordable nearly everywhere. The typical homeowner pays $1,040 a year in property tax, about a third of the national figure. Almost no one here lives in a bottom-quarter town; Malvern and Magnolia are typical. It leads its neighbors on affordability, ahead of Mississippi.
A typical home costs 3.1 years of median household income, 8th lowest.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Measure: our cost-of-living score: home value, rent and tax bill against area income, plus the share paying 30%+ for housing. 40 Arkansas towns of 10,000+ against 5,235 nationally.
Health
49th of 51D−3/100 Among the least healthy states. 24% of adults describe their health as fair or poor, against 19% nationally. Even its best town, Bentonville, ranks #1,420 of 5,218 nationally. Missouri, Tennessee and Mississippi all do better on health.
Source: CDC PLACES 2025 release (BRFSS model estimates).
Measure: our health score: seven CDC PLACES measures (general, physical and mental health, obesity, diabetes, smoking, inactivity). 40 Arkansas towns of 10,000+ against 5,218 nationally.
Housing
43rd of 51C−16/100 More renters than most states. Home ownership stands at 66%, the 16th lowest rate of the 50 states and D.C. Big places drag it down: Little Rock and Fayetteville rank in the national bottom quarter.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Measure: share of occupied homes that are owner-occupied. 40 Arkansas towns of 10,000+ against 5,235 nationally.
Natural hazards
47th of 51D8/100 Among the highest natural-hazard risk. Compared with $155 nationally, FEMA expects $173 a year in damage per $100,000 of buildings here. Even its best town, Bentonville, ranks #2,043 of 5,239 nationally. Most of that risk is inland flooding (55%), with earthquakes a distant second.
The federal government declared 15 major disasters here between 2015 and 2025 (17th most).
What drives it: inland flooding 55%, earthquake 18%, ice storm 12% of expected building damage.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (Dec. 2025): expected annual building loss over building value, all census tracts; FEMA disaster declarations.
Measure: FEMA National Risk Index: expected yearly building loss from 18 natural hazards, as a share of building value. 40 Arkansas towns of 10,000+ against 5,239 nationally.
Commute
9th of 51A−84/100 Short commutes nearly everywhere. At 22.5 minutes, the average commute is the 13th shortest among the states. 76% of residents live in top-quarter towns such as Batesville and Mountain Home, and almost none at the bottom. Among its neighbors it does best on commute times, with Missouri second.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Measure: average one-way commute of the town’s workers. 40 Arkansas towns of 10,000+ against 5,235 nationally.
Growth
26th of 51B−50/100 Growing at about the national pace. Building has picked up since: 8th most new homes per resident in 2025. The population grew 3.3% between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, against 7.4% nationally (16th slowest). Town by town it does better than the statewide number.
Building: 7.6 new homes permitted per 1,000 residents in 2025, 8th most.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 and 2020 decennial counts; Census building permits.
Measure: population change between the 2010 and 2020 censuses. 40 Arkansas towns of 10,000+ against 5,079 nationally.
How Arkansas compares to its neighbors
Arkansas beats every neighbor on cost of living and the commute; on health, every neighbor beats it.
| Arkansas | Missouri | Tennessee | Mississippi | Louisiana | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | C− 2439th of 51 | B 6021st of 51 | B− 5026th of 51 | B− 4827th of 51 | D 847th of 51 |
| Safety | C− 1848th official · 5% in top towns | C+ 4441st official · 9% in top towns | C 2847th official · 7% in top towns | A− 8213th official · 17% in top towns | D 645th official · 0% in top towns |
| Schools | B− 5046th official · 9% in top towns | B 6238th official · 13% in top towns | A 8615th official · 32% in top towns | C+ 4437th official · 3% in top towns | C 2636th official · 3% in top towns |
| Cost of living | A+ 963rd official · 60% in top towns | A 8616th official · 54% in top towns | B+ 707th official · 14% in top towns | A 885th official · 32% in top towns | A− 804th official · 17% in top towns |
| Health | D− 348th official · 0% in top towns | C− 1838th official · 7% in top towns | C− 1644th official · 9% in top towns | D 848th official · 3% in top towns | D− 348th official · 0% in top towns |
| Housing | C− 1636th official · 3% in top towns | B+ 7021st official · 13% in top towns | C 3231st official · 8% in top towns | B 6015th official · 10% in top towns | B− 5225th official · 9% in top towns |
| Natural hazards | D 842nd official · 0% in top towns | C+ 3832nd official · 1% in top towns | B− 4622nd official · 6% in top towns | D 643rd official · 0% in top towns | D 1448th official · 6% in top towns |
| Commute | A− 8413th official · 76% in top towns | B 6217th official · 32% in top towns | B− 4632nd official · 39% in top towns | B− 5430th official · 52% in top towns | B− 5032nd official · 45% in top towns |
| Growth | B− 5036th official · 40% in top towns | C 2840th official · 15% in top towns | A− 7818th official · 57% in top towns | D 1450th official · 16% in top towns | C− 2442nd official · 13% in top towns |
Each cell: the subject’s grade and score, the state’s rank on the official figure (1st = the better end), and the share of residents of 10,000+ towns living in a nationally top-quarter town. Neighbor names open their report cards.
How this report card works
Two measures, side by side. The left card is the figure a state agency or federal survey publishes for the whole state, ranked against the other 49 states and D.C. The right card is built from our town grades: of everyone living in the state’s towns and cities of 10,000+, the share whose town falls in the national top quarter of 10,000+ towns. A state can do well on one and not the other; that difference is often the story.
Scores and grades. Each subject’s score (0–100) is the state’s standing among the 50 states and D.C.: the two measures’ percentiles averaged, then ranked again, the same method as our town grades. 100 is the best state, 0 the last. Letters use the town-grade scale (A+ from 95, A from 85, A− from 75 … D below 15). The overall score weighs safety 18, cost of living 18, schools 16, health 14, commute 10, housing 8, natural hazards 8, growth 8 (out of 100). D.C., a single city, is left out of the town measure and graded on official figures alone.
What it is not. A state figure averages everyone, so it cannot show whether a state is evenly good or a mix of very good and struggling places. The town measure shows the mix but leaves out towns under 10,000 and towns missing data. Neither says anything about any one neighborhood.
Schools use the Nation’s Report Card because each state’s own tests are set to different bars. Hazards use FEMA’s expected building damage, the same loss rate behind our town hazard grades. Sources are named under each figure. How grades work