Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 7,258, settled in 1883. Public schools that outperform most of Arkansas.
Ward gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $208K for a typical one, or 3.1 years of the Little Rock metro’s $67K median household income. It grades C+ overall, 40th among Arkansas's 123 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 86% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. On the plus side, its public schools beat 82% of Arkansas towns on state tests and graduation. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 87% of U.S. towns. Sears House and Woodlawn School Building is on the National Register of Historic Places. Only 5 of the 123 Arkansas towns we compare have a lower share of residents 65 or older than Ward.
Where Ward beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
4,067 counted in 2010 and 6,052 in 2020; an estimated 7,258 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 18.3% since 2020, after 48.8% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arkansas), ordered by how far Ward is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 275 in 1930, 6,052 in 2020. The archive holds 3 maps from 1963 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ward, 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 Ward.
Ward pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices, trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and has a longer frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of Arkansas.
Its A− for schools comes with a B+ for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $208K.
Its public schools are run by the Cabot School District. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ward Central ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 520 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AR on state tests and graduation
Among 123 Arkansas towns, just 8 have a higher FEMA risk score than Ward. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Ward since 2015.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Ward has 276 jobs for its 2,530 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Ward for work: only 2% work in town. Ward’s average trip to work is 29 minutes, against 21 minutes in Arkansas’ towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Since 2013, Ward has added 33 jobs, to 276 in 2023.
| Ward | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 1.8% | 22% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 13% | 6.1% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 18% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 138 to 95 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Ward’s violent crime rate is 4.7 per 1,000 residents, above both Arkansas’ towns (3.6) and U.S. towns (1.6). Within Arkansas, it does better than 60% of towns. Ward’s property crime rate is 8.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Ward | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.7 per 1,000 residents | 3.6 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 8.4 per 1,000 residents | 13.8 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Adults 18 to 34 are 32% of residents (22% statewide); people 65 and older are 8% of residents (18% statewide). The median age in Ward is 30.2 years. Ward has grown 18% since 2020, to 7,258 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Ward | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 30.2 years | 36.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 29% | 25% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 22% | 20% | 29% |
45% women, 55% men
About 122 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.5 points). Across Arkansas, 50.6% of residents are women. Median age: women 30.3, men 30.2.
| Ward | AR | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 21.9% | 12.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7% | 10.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.1% | 9.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 24.2% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.4% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 5.8% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.8% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 4.7% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 3.1% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 11.3% | 11.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.7% | 34.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 25.2% | 20.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.8% | 8.2% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 14% | 16.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.1% | 9.5% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The Cabot weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 209 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 82% of Arkansas places with climate records.
Ward has mild winters and hot summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 92°, January nights drop to 31° and about 2 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Within Arkansas it is healthier than 77% of the 123 graded towns: much of Arkansas scores lower on these measures. Its widest gap with Arkansas is heart disease: 4.8% of its 4,184 adults have heart disease, against 7.7% statewide.
29% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Ward. Only 7 of the 123 Arkansas towns we compare have a lower share of adults who have diabetes than Ward. 32% of adults have high blood pressure in Ward.
| Ward | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.3% | 13% | 12% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 19% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 25% | 23% |
| What stands out | Ward | AR |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.8% | 7.7% |
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 8.3% | 13.3% |
| More binge drinkers | 18.7% | 14.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Homes are within reach (about $208K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 24 miles.
The typical Ward home is worth about $208,000, up 3.4% in a year, 7% below the Arkansas typical home.
| Ward | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 69% | 60% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,202 a month | $875 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
1 within 15 miles of the center of Ward
About 4 of every 100 Ward residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Arkansas.
Where Ward’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in Arkansas, United States
Ward is the second most populous city in Lonoke County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 6,052 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Ward.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ward grades C+ overall, better than 38% of U.S. towns and #40 of 123 in Arkansas. It grades C+ for health, C for safety and A− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Within Arkansas, it does better than 60% 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 B+.