West ForkAR
A town of 2,373, settled in 1848.
Is West Fork a good place to live?
West Fork’s best subject grade is an A for cost of living; its weakest is a D for walkability. Only 6 of Arkansas’ 149 towns score higher on safety. West Fork has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes West Fork stand out
Where West Fork beats most towns.
Typical home value
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
97% of working residents leave West Fork for work
Where West Fork’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How West Fork grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arkansas), ordered by how far West Fork is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to West Fork: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in West Fork, 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 West Fork.
A typical West Fork home is worth about $309K
The typical West Fork home is worth about $309,000, up 4.1% in a year, 38% above the Arkansas typical home. 82% of households own their home in West Fork, against 60% in Arkansas’ towns and 73% across U.S. towns.
| West Fork | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 82% | 60% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,095 a month | $878 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
West Fork’s schools rank behind 58% of Arkansas districts
Its public schools are run by the West Fork School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Fork Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 249 | C |
| West Fork High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 264 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AR on state tests and graduation
West Fork has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Most working residents leave West Fork for work: only 3% work in town. 3.1% of residents live below the poverty line in West Fork, below both Arkansas’ towns (18%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). Jobs based in West Fork fell to 348 in 2023, 66 fewer than in 2013.
| West Fork | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 3.1% | 18% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.8% | 22% | 8% |
| Work from home | 6.1% | 6.2% | 11% |
| Median household income | $78,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
West Fork stands out in Arkansas and nationally: violent crime there is lower
West Fork’s violent crime rate is 0.8 per 1,000 residents. West Fork reports less crime per resident than 71% of the U.S. towns and cities we grade. West Fork’s property crime rate is 6.3 per 1,000 residents.
| West Fork | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.8 per 1,000 residents | 3.6 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.3 per 1,000 residents | 13.6 | 9.9 |
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Property crime per 1,000 residents
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
West Fork is less healthy than 66% of U.S. towns
West Fork beats the Arkansas average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 29% of West Fork adults get no exercise outside work.
| West Fork | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 34% | 25% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 35% | 33% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 25% | 19% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 39% | 36% |
| What stands out | West Fork | AR |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 14.9% | 18.5% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 8.4% | 10.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Four seasons and hot summers in West Fork
West Fork has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Only 2 of the 124 Arkansas towns we compare have a lower July high than West Fork.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
High risk in West Fork, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 66% of U.S. communities. Since 2004, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in West Fork.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
An age mix much like Arkansas’s
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Arkansas average. 14% of residents are 65 or older in West Fork. 24% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 26% across Arkansas.
| West Fork | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| Median age | 36.5 years | 36.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 25% | 25% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 24% | 20% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
Somewhere between 34% and 60% women
The Census survey reached too few of West Fork’s residents to say more: its margin here is ±13.1 points. Across Arkansas, 50.6% of residents are women.
| West Fork | AR | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.1% | 12.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.6% | 10.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.5% | 9.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.5% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.1% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.9% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.9% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 3.4% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.3% | 11.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 40.8% | 34.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.8% | 20.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.7% | 8.2% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 13.8% | 16.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.6% | 9.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,400, single groups can be off by several points
West Fork has set aside 0% of its land for conservation
0.4 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Riverside Park | 0.4 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and 10 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around West Fork. Close and well known come first.
31 mi MuseumCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art
9 mi Stadium & arenaDonald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium
9 mi Stadium & arenaBud Walton Arena
11 mi State parkDevil's Den State Park
34 mi National Military ParkPea Ridge National Military Park132K visitors a year
40 mi National Historic SiteFort Smith National Historic Site107K visitors a yearPhoto credits
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art: Charvex, CC0 · Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium: Bobak at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Bud Walton Arena: ~ (The Rebel At) ~, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Devil's Den State Park: jaystout, CC BY 2.0 · Pea Ridge National Military Park: Chris Light (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Smith National Historic Site: Photolitherland (talk) Chris Litherland, CC BY-SA 3.0
Everything we know about West Fork
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of West Fork
About 4 of every 100 West Fork residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Arkansas.
About West Fork
City in Arkansas, United States
West Fork is a city in Washington County, Arkansas, United States. The population is 2,331 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Northwest Arkansas region.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1848
- Area
- 3.8 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,342 ft
- ZIP code
- 72774
- Area code
- 479
Questions about West Fork
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is West Fork, AR expensive?
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.
What is West Fork, AR known for?
2 notable people were born here, including Lefty York and Mildred Earp.