Are you trying to find love in Arkansas?
Or are you just looking to hook up?
Either way, we’ve got you covered here. At least, we’ll point you in the right direction – which is why you came here in the first place, right?
According to the Pew Research Center, the number of Americans who have remained single (not married) is growing. That means, people are dating a lot longer than they used to.
There are many reasons for that, including financial and cultural. And, we suspect smartphones and social media has a lot to do with it, too. After all, we’re all a lot more distracted these days.
If you live in Arkansas, there’s a pretty good chance there are a lot of singles in your area. The Natural State ranks in the top 10 when it comes to number of people over the age of 18 who aren’t married, or in a serious relationship. That’s great news for people looking for their match.
So, where are the best cities for singles in Arkansas? We’ve got the answers here.
These are the best cities for singles in Arkansas. Try not to jump in the car with a dozen roses:
- Fayetteville (Photos)
- Arkadelphia (Photos)
- Conway (Photos)
- Little Rock (Photos)
- North Little Rock (Photos)
- Russellville (Photos)
- Fort Smith (Photos)
- Searcy (Photos)
- Springdale (Photos)
- Pine Bluff (Photos)
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how each city ranked. If you live in or really close to one of these cities, and you’re single, you should probably get out more often. And stop staring at your phone. Just sayin’.
The most boring place in Arkansas? That would be Marion.
And after you find a mate, you’ll no doubt want to start a family and buy a home right? Don’t forget to check out the best places to live in Arkansas or the safest places to live in Arkansas.
How do you determine which city is best for singles in Arkansas anyways?
To give you the places in Arkansas which are best for singles to find one another, we have to look at a handful of metrics. Of course, we want to measure the type of people who live in each city, and make some assumptions about what single people like.
So we researched the internet for a database that contains all that information.
How we crunched the numbers for the Natural State
We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. Using the 2011-2015 American Community Survey Census data produced for the state of Arkansas, we looked at every single city in the state. We paid particular attention to:
- Population density
- % of population that’s male vs. female (closer to a 50-50 ratio is better)
- % of households with kids
- Median age
- Number of unmarried people in each city
We then gave each city a Singles Score.
The higher the score, the better the city is for singles to find one another. We also limited our results to cities with populations over 10,000 people. For Arkansas, that meant a total of 36 cities.
Read on to see why Fayetteville is the talk of the town while Marion is probably a bit on the boring side.
1. Fayetteville
Population: 80,552
Median Age: 27.3
Married households: 33.7%
Households with kids: 22.3%
Fayetteville is the third-largest city in Arkansas and county seat of Washington County. The city is centrally located within the county and has been home of the University of Arkansas since the institution’s founding in 1871. Fayetteville is on the outskirts of the Boston Mountains, deep within the Ozarks. Known as Washington until 1829, the city was named after Fayetteville, Tennessee, from which many of the settlers had come. It was incorporated on November 3, 1836 and was rechartered in 1867. The four-county Northwest Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area is ranked 105th in terms of population in the United States with 463,204 in 2010 according to the United States Census Bureau. The city had a population of 73,580 at the 2010 Census. At 1,400 feet of elevation, it is also one of the highest major US cities between the western Great Plains and the Appalachian Mountains.
2. Arkadelphia
Population: 10,728
Median Age: 22.9
Married households: 33.6%
Households with kids: 28.7%
Arkadelphia is a city in Clark County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,714. The city is the county seat of Clark County. It is situated at the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains. Two universities, Henderson State University and Ouachita Baptist University, are located there. Arkadelphia was incorporated in 1857.
3. Conway
Population: 64,184
Median Age: 28.5
Married households: 42.7%
Households with kids: 31.1%
Conway is a city in the American state of Arkansas and the county seat of Faulkner County, located in the state’s most populous Metropolitan Statistical Area, Central Arkansas. Although sometimes considered a suburb of Little Rock, Conway is unique in that the majority of its residents do not commute out of the city to work. The city also serves as a regional shopping, educational, work, healthcare, sports, and cultural hub for Faulkner County and surrounding areas. Conway’s growth can be attributed to its jobs in technology and higher education with its largest employers being Acxiom, the University of Central Arkansas, Hewlett Packard, Hendrix College, Insight Enterprises, and many technology start up companies. Conway is home to three post-secondary educational institutions, earning it the nickname “The City of Colleges”.
4. Little Rock
Population: 197,640
Median Age: 35.9
Married households: 36.8%
Households with kids: 27.8%
Little Rock is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. It is also the county seat of Pulaski County. It was incorporated on November 7, 1831, on the south bank of the Arkansas River close to the state’s geographic center. The city derives its name from a rock formation along the river, named “la petite roche” by the French explorer Jean-Baptiste Bénard de la Harpe in the 1720s. The capital of the Arkansas Territory was moved to Little Rock from Arkansas Post in 1821. The city’s population was 193,524 at the 2010 census. The six county Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is ranked 75th in terms of population in the United States with 724,385 residents according to the 2013 estimate by the United States Census Bureau.
5. North Little Rock
Population: 66,042
Median Age: 34.2
Married households: 33.3%
Households with kids: 29.5%
North Little Rock is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States, across the Arkansas River from Little Rock in the central part of the state. The population was 62,304 at the 2010 census. North Little Rock, along with Little Rock and Conway, anchors the six-county Little Rock?North Little Rock?Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area (2014 population 729,135), which is further included in the Little Rock-North Little Rock Combined Statistical Area with 902,443 residents.
6. Russellville
Population: 29,136
Median Age: 28.1
Married households: 41.8%
Households with kids: 31.2%
Russellville is the county seat and largest city in Pope County, Arkansas, United States, with a population of 27,920, according to the 2010 Census. It is home to Arkansas Tech University and Arkansas Nuclear One, Arkansas’ only nuclear power plant. Russellville borders Lake Dardanelle and the Arkansas River.
7. Fort Smith
Population: 87,712
Median Age: 35.6
Married households: 40.9%
Households with kids: 30.8%
Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 86,209. With an estimated population of 87,443 In 2012, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents that encompasses the Arkansas counties of Crawford, Franklin, and Sebastian, and the Oklahoma counties of Le Flore and Sequoyah.
8. Searcy
Population: 23,969
Median Age: 28.3
Married households: 46.2%
Households with kids: 31.7%
Searcy (/srsi/ SUR-see) is the largest city and county seat of White County, Arkansas, United States. According to 2014 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 23,768. It is the principal city of the Searcy, AR Micropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of White County. The city takes its name from Richard Searcy, a judge for the Superior Court of the Arkansas Territory. A college town, Searcy is the home of Harding University.
9. Springdale
Population: 76,188
Median Age: 30.5
Married households: 50.9%
Households with kids: 46.3%
Springdale is the fourth-largest city in Arkansas. It is located in both Washington and Benton counties in Northwest Arkansas. Located on the Springfield Plateau deep in the Ozark Mountains, Springdale has long been an important industrial city for the region. In addition to several trucking companies, the city is home to the world headquarters of Tyson Foods, the world’s largest meat producing company. Originally named Shiloh, the city changed its name to Springdale when applying for a post office in 1872. The four-county Northwest Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area is ranked 109th in terms of population in the United States with 463,204 in 2010 according to the United States Census Bureau. The city had a population of 69,797 at the 2010 Census.
10. Pine Bluff
Population: 45,404
Median Age: 34.8
Married households: 30.8%
Households with kids: 30.7%
Pine Bluff is the tenth-largest city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Jefferson County. It is the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff Combined Statistical Area. The population of the city was 49,083 in the 2010 Census with 2016 estmates showing a decline to 43,841.
There You Have It – The Best Cities for Singles in Arkansas
If you’re looking for a breakdown of cities in Arkansas ranked by criteria that most would agree make a place a great spot for finding a single person (and potentially love), this is an accurate list.
Here’s a look at the most boring cities in Arkansas according to the data:
- Marion
- Camden
- Paragould
For more Arkansas reading, check out:
- These Are The 10 Worst Places To Live In Arkansas
- These Are The 10 Most Ghetto Cities In Arkansas
- These Are The 10 Best Places To Live In Arkansas According To Science
Detailed List Of The Best Cities For Singles In Arkansas
City | Rank |
---|---|
Fayetteville | 1 |
Arkadelphia | 2 |
Conway | 3 |
Little Rock | 4 |
North Little Rock | 5 |
Russellville | 6 |
Fort Smith | 7 |
Searcy | 8 |
Springdale | 9 |
Pine Bluff | 10 |
Sherwood | 11 |
Rogers | 12 |
Helena-West Helena | 13 |
Malvern | 14 |
Jonesboro | 15 |
Hot Springs | 16 |
Jacksonville | 17 |
Benton | 18 |
El Dorado | 19 |
Texarkana | 20 |
Blytheville | 21 |
Centerton | 22 |
West Memphis | 23 |
Bentonville | 24 |
Harrison | 25 |
Magnolia | 26 |
Batesville | 27 |
Van Buren | 28 |
Cabot | 29 |
Mountain Home | 30 |
Siloam Springs | 31 |
Bryant | 32 |
Maumelle | 33 |
Paragould | 34 |
Camden | 35 |
Marion | 36 |