SouthsideAR
A town of 4,274, incorporated in 2014. Public schools that outperform most of Arkansas.
Is Southside a good place to live?
Southside gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $151K for a typical one, or 2.7 years of the Batesville area’s $57K median household income. It grades C+ overall, 38th of 123 graded towns in Arkansas. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 93% of the country, and FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 72% of U.S. communities, with tornadoes at the top. On the plus side, its public schools beat 77% of Arkansas towns on state tests and graduation. Only 3 of Arkansas’ 201 towns score lower on the outdoors. Southside's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 86% of U.S. towns. Only 14 of Arkansas’ 201 towns score lower on history.
What makes Southside stand out
Where Southside beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
How Southside grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arkansas), ordered by how far Southside is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Southside: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Southside, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Southside.
Southside pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices, trades workers with Batesville and other neighbors and looks healthier within Arkansas than nationally.
Southside earns a D for health
Within Arkansas it is less healthy than 72% of the 123 graded towns: much of Arkansas scores lower on these measures.
37% of adults get no exercise outside work in Southside, where Arkansas’ towns sit at 34% and U.S. towns at 25%. 18% of adults report frequent physical distress in Southside. Southside beats the Arkansas average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3.
| Southside | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 34% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 19% | 17% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 25% | 19% |
| What stands out | Southside | AR |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 10.7% | 8.6% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 22.9% | 18.6% |
| More adults with heart disease | 8.8% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Southside earns an A− for schools
Its A− for schools comes with an A− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $151K.
Its public schools are run by the Southside School District. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Southside Charter High School, with 464 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southside Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 852 | B+ |
| Southside Charter High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 10–12 | Grades 10–12 | 464 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AR on state tests and graduation
Southside faces a high natural-hazard risk, led by tornadoes
Southside’s FEMA risk score is 72 of 100, close to Arkansas’ towns (66 of 100) and above U.S. towns (44 of 100).
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Mild winters and hot summers in Southside
Southside has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Southside is 91°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
More children than Arkansas overall
Children under 18 are 30% of residents (23% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 16% of residents (22% statewide). 19% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 26% across Arkansas.
| Southside | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 19% | 20% | 29% |
| Median age | 37.5 years | 36.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 16% | 18% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.9 points. Across Arkansas, 50.6% of residents are women.
| Southside | AR | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 18% | 12.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12% | 10.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.8% | 9.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.6% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.1% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.1% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.5% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.9% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.9% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 17.2% | 11.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29.7% | 34.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.8% | 20.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12% | 8.2% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 12.8% | 16.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6.5% | 9.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,300, single groups can be off by several points
About half of Southside’s working residents commute to Batesville
Southside has about as many jobs (1,652) as working residents, but only 223 people both live and work here. Jobs based here grew from 1,084 in 2013 to 1,652.
Most working residents leave Southside for work: only 13% work in town. Since 2013, Southside has added 568 jobs, to 1,652 in 2023. Southside’s average trip to work is 20 minutes.
| Southside | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 18% | 17% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 22% | 8% |
| Median household income | $66,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The median home in Southside sells for about $180K
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Southside
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Southside
About 4 of every 100 Southside residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Arkansas.
About Southside
City in Arkansas, United States
Southside is an incorporated city located in Independence County, Arkansas, United States. The elevation of Southside is 354 feet (108 m). The spur route of Arkansas Highway 14 connects Southside with Salado.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 6.4 sq mi
Southside’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with Southside.
Southside reports no FBI crime data of its own. Salado and Desha aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Southside with a neighbor →
Questions about Southside
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Southside, AR a good place to live?
Southside grades C+ overall, better than 39% of U.S. towns and #38 of 123 in Arkansas. It grades D for health and A− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Southside, AR expensive?
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $151,000, 33% below the Arkansas typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.