10 Best Counties To Live In Arkansas [2023]

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.

The 10 Best Counties To Live In Arkansas 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

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 County: Data

2. Grant County

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 County: Data

3. Faulkner County

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 County: Data

4. Benton County

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 County: Data

5. Lonoke County

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 County: Data

6. Cleveland County

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 County: Data

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 County: Data

8. Boone County

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 County: Data

9. Pulaski County

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 County: Data

10. Arkansas County

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 County: Data

Best Counties To Live In Arkansas

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:

Chicot County
Lafayette County
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