The 10 Best Counties To Live In Arkansas For 2023


The best counties in Arkansas are Saline County and Grant County for 2023 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.

After the analytic dust settled, we identified the 10 best counties to live in Natural State for 2023.

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 2023

1. Saline County

Benton, AR

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Benton
Population: 122,308
Median Income: $68,605 (2nd best)
Median Home Price: $168,100 (4th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.8% (11th best)
More on Saline CountyData

2. Grant County

Sheridan, AR

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

Biggest Place: Sheridan
Population: 17,912
Median Income: $62,479 (4th best)
Median Home Price: $124,900 (2best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.4% (6th best)
More on Grant CountyData

3. 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: 123,191
Median Income: $54,845 (10th best)
Median Home Price: $171,800 (3rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.3% (5th best)
More on Faulkner CountyData

4. Benton County

Bella Vista, AR

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Springdale
Population: 278,774
Median Income: $76,887 (best)
Median Home Price: $211,100 (best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.0% (3rd best)
More on Benton CountyData

5. Lonoke County

Cabot, AR

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Cabot
Population: 73,824
Median Income: $62,561 (3rd best)
Median Home Price: $153,600 (8th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.2% (30th best)
More on Lonoke CountyData

6. Cleveland County

Kingsland, AR

Source: Flickr User Farther Along | CC BY 2.0

Biggest Place: Rison
Population: 7,632
Median Income: $48,183 (23rd best)
Median Home Price: $96,200 (43rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.0% (best)
More on Cleveland CountyData

7. Perry County

Biggest Place: Perryville
Population: 10,056
Median Income: $47,500 (25th best)
Median Home Price: $117,600 (25th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.3% (14th best)
More on Perry CountyData

8. Boone County

Harrison, AR

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

Biggest Place: Harrison
Population: 37,445
Median Income: $48,625 (2best)
Median Home Price: $133,500 (16th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.6% (20th best)
More on Boone CountyData

9. Pulaski County

Jacksonville, AR

Source: Wikipedia User Brandonrush | CC BY-SA 4.0

Biggest Place: Little Rock
Population: 397,931
Median Income: $55,235 (8th best)
Median Home Price: $166,300 (5th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.3% (3best)
More on Pulaski CountyData

10. Arkansas County

Stuttgart, AR

Source: Wikipedia User StuttgartChamber | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Stuttgart
Population: 17,273
Median Income: $55,022 (9th best)
Median Home Price: $114,200 (28th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.3% (15th best)
More on Arkansas 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 2023. 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 2023

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

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. Lafayette County
  3. Lee 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 122,308 $68,605 $168,100
2 Grant County 17,912 $62,479 $124,900
3 Faulkner County 123,191 $54,845 $171,800
4 Benton County 278,774 $76,887 $211,100
5 Lonoke County 73,824 $62,561 $153,600
6 Cleveland County 7,632 $48,183 $96,200
7 Perry County 10,056 $47,500 $117,600
8 Boone County 37,445 $48,625 $133,500
9 Pulaski County 397,931 $55,235 $166,300
10 Arkansas County 17,273 $55,022 $114,200
11 Newton County 7,343 $42,817 $147,200
12 Baxter County 41,476 $43,530 $138,500
13 Cleburne County 24,848 $48,400 $139,200
14 Craighead County 109,875 $51,788 $157,100
15 Little River County 12,104 $57,614 $86,700
16 Washington County 242,793 $56,610 $201,800
17 Greene County 45,665 $51,367 $136,700
18 Carroll County 28,154 $53,366 $154,400
19 Logan County 21,299 $46,570 $106,400
20 Drew County 17,511 $42,891 $103,900
21 Garland County 99,694 $49,985 $145,900
22 Yell County 20,489 $51,070 $112,100
23 Crawford County 60,483 $52,057 $131,600
24 Prairie County 8,306 $47,335 $80,200
25 Clark County 21,569 $45,351 $120,600
26 Lincoln County 13,092 $49,474 $91,800
27 Conway County 20,687 $45,812 $116,800
28 Pike County 10,234 $46,672 $86,900
29 Pope County 63,234 $47,322 $132,400
30 Sebastian County 127,941 $50,226 $136,600
31 Hot Spring County 33,096 $46,724 $102,300
32 Madison County 16,496 $47,862 $121,500
33 White County 77,075 $46,345 $129,600
34 Union County 39,262 $46,444 $89,200
35 Marion County 16,750 $41,038 $139,200
36 Independence County 37,796 $50,028 $100,100
37 Columbia County 22,947 $41,115 $106,300
38 Izard County 13,653 $45,318 $87,900
39 Franklin County 17,159 $42,128 $99,900
40 Jefferson County 68,199 $43,720 $90,500
41 Calhoun County 4,811 $55,904 $75,900
42 Miller County 42,875 $46,610 $114,100
43 Johnson County 25,853 $40,628 $108,300
44 Ouachita County 22,858 $43,338 $78,800
45 Randolph County 18,442 $42,225 $96,500
46 Searcy County 7,872 $39,627 $101,500
47 Nevada County 8,340 $42,670 $71,100
48 Sharp County 17,243 $37,361 $77,000
49 Van Buren County 15,851 $40,763 $106,600
50 Dallas County 6,645 $34,337 $78,100
51 Howard County 12,894 $39,558 $107,600
52 Crittenden County 48,338 $46,452 $131,400
53 Scott County 9,928 $43,577 $82,200
54 Lawrence County 16,292 $40,746 $75,900
55 Ashley County 19,362 $42,683 $78,100
56 Bradley County 10,597 $41,972 $78,600
57 Cross County 16,935 $45,247 $85,300
58 Polk County 19,476 $43,444 $108,100
59 Hempstead County 20,352 $43,592 $93,000
60 Stone County 12,364 $32,813 $121,600
61 Sevier County 16,074 $49,470 $94,200
62 Fulton County 12,072 $36,950 $88,100
63 Woodruff County 6,333 $43,717 $76,800
64 Clay County 14,661 $39,817 $75,800
65 Poinsett County 23,212 $42,854 $82,000
66 Mississippi County 41,061 $45,740 $96,200
67 Montgomery County 8,525 $41,032 $116,800
68 Desha County 11,530 $33,295 $84,800
69 Jackson County 16,878 $39,154 $75,300
70 Phillips County 16,923 $32,235 $73,400
71 Monroe County 6,903 $41,667 $74,600
72 St. Francis County 23,623 $34,981 $68,100
73 Lee County 8,832 $29,082 $75,300
74 Lafayette County 6,373 $36,083 $60,800
75 Chicot County 10,405 $33,770 $70,900
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.