Best Places to Live in Arkansas (2011)

This article, the thirty-eigth in a 50-state series, ranks the best places to live in Arkansas based on three criteria: (1) median household income (adjusted for cost of living); (2) educational attainment (% of residents 25 years and over who have earned a bachelor's degree or higher); and (3) property crime rates per 1,000 residents (burglary and automobile thefts). For purposes of these rankings, "places" are incorporated municipalities with populations greater than 1,000.

Among the twenty best places to live in Arkansas, ten comprise Little Rock and its suburbs, seven comprise Fayetteville and its suburbs, one is a suburb of Fort Smith, one is a summer resort town, and one is a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee. By county, four of the best places to live in Arkansas are located in Washington County, three in Benton County, three in Faulkner County, three in Pulaski County, two in Saline County, one each in Crittenden, Grant, Jefferson, and Sebastian counties, and one each partially in Cleburne and Van Buren counties.

After reading "Best Places to Live in Arkansas (2011)," return to this link to read "Largest Cities in Arkansas (2011)." A collection of similar articles for the remaining 49 states can be found at these links: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

For the culmination of the 50-state series, read "Best Places to Live in America (2011)."

1. Best Places to Live in Arkansas (2011) - Maumelle, AR (Pulaski County)

Population: 15,725

Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $101,159
Bachelor's degree or higher (25 years and over): 49.0%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 13.74

Distance to Familiar Cities:

Little Rock, AR: 18 miles SE
Memphis, TN: 145 miles WNW

2. Best Places to Live in Arkansas (2011) - Centerton, AR (Benton County)

Population: 7,284

Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $73,348
Bachelor's degree or higher (25 years and over): 35.3%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 3.63

Distance to Familiar Cities:

Little Rock, AR: 218 miles SE
Fayetteville, AR: 30 miles SSE

3. Best Places to Live in Arkansas (2011) - Johnson, AR (Washington County)

Population: 3,189

Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $73,628
Bachelor's degree or higher (25 years and over): 42.9%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 7.97*

Distance to Familiar Cities:

Little Rock, AR: 196 milesSE
Fayetteville, AR: 6 miles S

4. Best Places to Live in Arkansas (2011) - Bentonville, AR (Benton County)

Population: 33,648

Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $61,077
Bachelor's degree or higher (25 years and over): 33.2%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 2.8

Distance to Familiar Cities:

Little Rock, AR: 216 miles SE
Fayetteville, AR: 29 miles S

5. Best Places to Live in Arkansas (2011) - Greenbrier, AR (Faulkner County)

Population: 4,148

Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $58,526
Bachelor's degree or higher (25 years and over): 21.3%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 0.22

Distance to Familiar Cities:

Little Rock, AR: 43 miles S
Memphis, TN: 152 miles E

6. Best Places to Live in Arkansas (2011) - Tontitown, AR (Washington County)

Population: 2,417

Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $83,852
Bachelor's degree or higher (25 years and over): 24.6%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 7.97*

Distance to Familiar Cities:

Little Rock, AR: 200 miles SE
Fayetteville, AR: 12 miles SSE

7. Best Places to Live in Arkansas (2011) - Vilonia, AR (Faulkner County)

Population: 3,210

Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $75,457
Bachelor's degree or higher (25 years and over): 26.1%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 6.78

Distance to Familiar Cities:

Little Rock, AR: 34 miles S
Memphis, TN: 140 miles E

8. Best Places to Live in Arkansas (2011) - Fayetteville, AR (Washington County)

Population: 72,828

Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $47,999
Bachelor's degree or higher (25 years and over): 43.5%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 8.01

Distance to Familiar Cities:

Little Rock, AR: 190 miles SE
Fort Smith, AR: 57 miles SSW

9. Best Places to Live in Arkansas (2011) - White Hall, AR (Jefferson County)

Population: 5,138

Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $66,518
Bachelor's degree or higher (25 years and over): 23.2%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 4.07

Distance to Familiar Cities:

Little Rock, AR: 38 miles NNW
Memphis, TN: 153 miles NE

10. Best Places to Live in Arkansas (2011) - Greenland, AR (Washington County)

Population: 1,184

Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $66,824
Bachelor's degree or higher (25 years and over): 28.3%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 7.02

Distance to Familiar Cities:

Little Rock, AR: 185 miles SE
Fayetteville, AR: 8 miles N

11. Best Places to Live in Arkansas (2011) -- Fairfield Bay, AR (Cleburne and Van Buren Counties)

Population: 2,442

Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $49,679
Bachelor's degree or higher (25 years and over): 22.8%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 2.8
Distance to Familiar Cities:

Little Rock, AR: 83 miles S
Fayetteville, AR: 158 miles NW

12. Best Places to Live in Arkansas (2011) - Conway, AR (Faulkner County)

Population: 56,269

Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $48,911
Bachelor's degree or higher (25 years and over): 35.1%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 9.71

Distance to Familiar Cities:

Little Rock, AR: 33 miles SSE
Memphis, TN: 153 miles E

13. Best Places to Live in Arkansas (2011) - Rogers, AR (Benton County)

Population: 54,405

Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $57,089
Bachelor's degree or higher (25 years and over): 25.9%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 8.07

Distance to Familiar Cities:

Little Rock, AR: 211 miles SE
Fayetteville, AR: 20 miles S

14. Best Places to Live in Arkansas (2011) - Greenwood, AR (Sebastian County)

Population: 8,386

Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $63,261
Bachelor's degree or higher (25 years and over): 16.5%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 6.13

Distance to Familiar Cities:

Little Rock, AR: 138 miles ESE
Fort Smith, AR: 19 miles NNW

15. Best Places to Live in Arkansas (2011) - Sheridan, AR (Grant County)

Population: 4,475

Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $59,230
Bachelor's degree or higher (25 years and over): 32.3%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 12.28

Distance to Familiar Cities:

Little Rock, AR: 35 miles NNE
Memphis, TN: 167 miles NE

16. Best Places to Live in Arkansas (2011) - Bryant, AR (Salina County)

Population: 15,448

Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $66,662
Bachelor's degree or higher (25 years and over): 30.2%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 13.23

Distance to Familiar Cities:

Little Rock, AR: 19 miles NE
Memphis, TN: 153 miles ENE

17. Best Places to Live in Arkansas (2011) - Benton, AR (Salina County)

Population: 27,891

Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $55,434
Bachelor's degree or higher (25 years and over): 25.9%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 9.51

Distance to Familiar Cities:

Little Rock, AR: 25 miles NE
Memphis, TN: 160 miles NE

18. Best Places to Live in Arkansas (2011) - Sherwood, AR (Pulaski County)

Population: 28,245

Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $61,637
Bachelor's degree or higher (25 years and over): 26.2%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 12.62

Distance to Familiar Cities:

Little Rock, AR: 10 miles SSW
Memphis, TN: 135 miles ENE

19. Best Places to Live in Arkansas (2011) - Marion, AR (Crittenden County)

Population: 11,197

Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $62,811
Bachelor's degree or higher (25 years and over): 28.6%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 16.38

Distance to Familiar Cities:

Little Rock, AR: 131 miles WSW
Memphis, TN: 11 miles SE

20. Best Places to Live in Arkansas (2011) - Little Rock, AR (Pulaski County)

Population: 188,593

Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $50,012
Bachelor's degree or higher (25 years and over): 38.2%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 29.31

Distance to Familiar Cities:

Fayetteville, AR: 190 miles NW
Memphis, TN: 137 miles ENE

*In some cases, municipalities do not report their crime statistics to the FBI or they contract for services with the state or a county law enforcement agency. For those towns, crime rates are extrapolated from municipal, county, state, or contiguous municipality data.

The sources used in support of this article include the latest 1, 3, and 5-year estimates from the U.S. Census and the most recent FBI Uniform Crime Report.

More Articles from J.C. Grant

"Average ACT Scores by State (2010)"
"Average SAT Scores by State (2010)"
"Largest U.S. Cities: Population Size (2011)"
"Most_Dangerous_Cities_in_America - Murder Rates"
"State Education Rankings: Graduation Rates for High School, College, and Grad/Professional School"
"State Education Rankings: SAT Scores"

Source(s):

"All Cities in Arkansas," City-Data.com
"2009 ACS 1-year Estimates," U.S. Census Bureau
"2007-2009 ACS 3-year Estimates," U.S. Census Bureau
"2006-2008 ACS 3-year Estimates," U.S. Census Bureau
"2005-2009 ACS 5-Year Estimates," U.S. Census Bureau
"Uniform Crime Report, Federal Bureau of Investigation