The 10 Best Counties To Live In Arkansas For 2024


The best counties in Arkansas are Saline County and Grant County for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

Some of you might be asking yourself, at this very moment, is Arkansas a good place?

The answer is unequivocally yes… if you know where to locate the best counties to live in Arkansas.

Lucky for you, we’re here to help you identify the best counties to live in the Natural State based on the most recently available data from the Census. And this isn’t our first rodeo — we’ve been using Saturday Night Science to rank places for years.

The question becomes if you wanted to relocate to the best part of Arkansas, where would you go? To answer that, we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 75 counties in the state.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Table | FAQs | Summary


Saline County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in Arkansas. And you should avoid Chicot County if you can — at least according to the data.

Now you know exactly where to move in Arkansas. Keep on reading for more about the top ten and a detailed methodology.

Or, check out the best places to live in Arkansas and the cheapest places to live in Arkansas.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


The Best Counties To Live In Arkansas For 2024

1. Saline County

Benton, AR

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Benton
Population: 123,988
Median Income: $73,236 (2nd best)
Median Home Price: $236,097 (6th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.8% (12th best)
More on Saline CountyData

2. Grant County

Sheridan, AR

Source: Wikipedia User Chris Litherland | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Sheridan
Population: 18,022
Median Income: $68,598 (3rd best)
Median Home Price: $196,058 (15th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.3% (9th best)
More on Grant CountyData

3. Benton County

Bella Vista, AR

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Springdale
Population: 286,528
Median Income: $85,269 (best)
Median Home Price: $341,523 (best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.9% (3rd best)
More on Benton CountyData

4. Faulkner County

Conway, AR

Source: Wikipedia User Photolitherland (talk)Chris Litherland Original uploader was Photolitherland at en.wikipedia | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Conway
Population: 124,611
Median Income: $61,273 (6th best)
Median Home Price: $234,339 (7th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.3% (8th best)
More on Faulkner CountyData

5. Lonoke County

Cabot, AR

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Cabot
Population: 74,292
Median Income: $68,078 (4th best)
Median Home Price: $212,764 (9th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.5% (20th best)
More on Lonoke CountyData

6. Cleveland County

Kingsland, AR

Source: Flickr User Farther Along | CC BY 2.0

Biggest Place: Rison
Population: 7,548
Median Income: $48,913 (36th best)
Median Home Price: $137,780 (43rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 0.8% (best)
More on Cleveland CountyData

7. Boone County

Harrison, AR

Source: Wikipedia User Photolitherland (talk)Chris Litherland | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Harrison
Population: 37,662
Median Income: $52,275 (22nd best)
Median Home Price: $205,773 (11th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.4% (19th best)
More on Boone CountyData

8. Perry County

Biggest Place: Perryville
Population: 10,055
Median Income: $53,980 (18th best)
Median Home Price: $143,073 (39th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.6% (2best)
More on Perry CountyData

9. Baxter County

Mountain Home, AR

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Mountain Home
Population: 41,801
Median Income: $47,403 (43rd best)
Median Home Price: $210,962 (10th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.1% (29th best)
More on Baxter CountyData

10. Newton County

Biggest Place: Jasper
Population: 7,243
Median Income: $50,699 (28th best)
Median Home Price: $204,452 (12th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.8% (11th best)
More on Newton CountyData

Methodology: How do you determine which Arkansas county is the best?

To give you the best county in Arkansas, we have to look at a handful of metrics that signal the quality of a place. To do that, we made assumptions about what’s in a “best county” and what isn’t. For reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, Saturday Night Science.

With that in mind, we went to two of the best data sources on the internet. Namely, the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent period.

We paid particular attention to:

  • Violent Crime Rates
  • Property Crime Rates
  • Median Home Values
  • Median Income
  • Unemployment Rates
  • Adult Education Levels
  • Health Insurance Coverage
  • Poverty Rates

We then ranked each county in Arkansas across each of the criteria from one to 75, with one being the best.

Taking the average rank across all criteria, we created a quality of life score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the “Best County To Live In Arkansas.”

The result is some of the safest, quietest, and best counties to raise a family in the Natural State.

We updated this article for 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the best counties to live in Arkansas.

Read on to see why Saline County is the best county, while Chicot County is probably in contention for being the worst county in Arkansas.

Summary: The Best Counties In Arkansas To Call Home For 2024

Living in Arkansas can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?

The best counties in Arkansas are Saline County, Grant County, Benton County, Faulkner County, Lonoke County, Cleveland County, Boone County, Perry County, Baxter County, and Newton County.

But now you know the outstanding parts and the parts to avoid, and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day.

You are welcome.

Here’s a look at the worst counties in Arkansas according to the data:

  1. Chicot County
  2. Monroe County
  3. Phillips County

For more Arkansas reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Counties In Arkansas

Rank County Population Median Income Median Home Price
1 Saline County 123,988 $73,236 $236,097
2 Grant County 18,022 $68,598 $196,058
3 Benton County 286,528 $85,269 $341,523
4 Faulkner County 124,611 $61,273 $234,339
5 Lonoke County 74,292 $68,078 $212,764
6 Cleveland County 7,548 $48,913 $137,780
7 Boone County 37,662 $52,275 $205,773
8 Perry County 10,055 $53,980 $143,073
9 Baxter County 41,801 $47,403 $210,962
10 Newton County 7,243 $50,699 $204,452
11 Little River County 12,024 $58,627 $135,785
12 Cleburne County 24,948 $52,780 $238,126
13 Pulaski County 398,322 $58,326 $191,702
14 Carroll County 28,362 $56,826 $236,559
15 Washington County 247,331 $61,985 $316,585
16 Garland County 100,021 $54,229 $238,295
17 Logan County 21,247 $51,131 $144,397
18 Craighead County 111,038 $55,169 $201,926
19 Drew County 17,309 $44,968 $148,801
20 Pike County 10,205 $49,248 $162,054
21 Prairie County 8,217 $47,045 $121,186
22 Yell County 20,342 $55,879 $142,837
23 Union County 38,815 $49,745 $116,820
24 Pope County 63,475 $51,678 $185,921
25 Crawford County 60,593 $56,702 $192,342
26 White County 77,118 $51,144 $183,456
27 Franklin County 17,160 $47,695 $154,141
28 Hot Spring County 33,129 $50,260 $147,119
29 Madison County 16,737 $51,514 $229,986
30 Greene County 45,954 $54,879 $176,303
31 Arkansas County 17,024 $58,695 $110,414
32 Columbia County 22,707 $47,441 $126,262
33 Conway County 20,782 $50,282 $152,666
34 Sebastian County 128,184 $54,047 $179,808
35 Dallas County 6,472 $40,085 $80,827
36 Calhoun County 4,773 $60,237 $105,664
37 Clark County 21,469 $48,071 $138,953
38 Independence County 37,910 $52,361 $150,190
39 Fulton County 12,183 $38,917 $162,150
40 Sharp County 17,422 $43,332 $136,275
41 Marion County 16,905 $42,891 $201,697
42 Ouachita County 22,606 $47,348 $90,308
43 Lincoln County 13,016 $50,526 $109,413
44 Van Buren County 15,900 $45,768 $151,939
45 Jefferson County 66,934 $46,855 $90,465
46 Polk County 19,384 $48,449 $164,386
47 Montgomery County 8,555 $47,103 $181,474
48 Randolph County 18,619 $45,993 $130,797
49 Searcy County 7,880 $42,063 $150,438
50 Miller County 42,682 $47,613 $160,328
51 Izard County 13,748 $46,159 $147,359
52 Nevada County 8,292 $43,421 $104,415
53 Woodruff County 6,259 $49,608 $73,008
54 Sevier County 15,913 $53,567 $145,727
55 Howard County 12,779 $44,824 $135,261
56 Johnson County 25,925 $42,470 $161,470
57 Stone County 12,393 $37,664 $173,062
58 Crittenden County 47,945 $51,860 $142,906
59 Cross County 16,827 $48,129 $130,526
60 Bradley County 10,461 $43,688 $91,075
61 Scott County 9,871 $45,340 $132,210
62 Clay County 14,537 $44,685 $95,809
63 Lawrence County 16,258 $43,606 $110,747
64 Hempstead County 20,037 $45,049 $105,798
65 Ashley County 19,018 $44,804 $79,837
66 Poinsett County 22,997 $43,440 $109,526
67 Mississippi County 40,361 $50,012 $86,820
68 Jackson County 16,784 $41,929 $78,451
69 St. Francis County 23,138 $39,822 $101,102
70 Desha County 11,285 $38,067 $80,429
71 Lee County 8,666 $33,801 $78,652
72 Lafayette County 6,277 $40,262 $83,117
73 Phillips County 16,373 $37,458 $45,503
74 Monroe County 6,787 $41,786 $72,006
75 Chicot County 10,234 $36,593 $79,970
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.