While big cities like Little Rock offer culture, cuisine, and charisma, they also deliver terrible traffic, towering expenses, and a taxing quality of life.
With that in mind, we wanted to uncover the best suburbs around Little Rock. These burbs have all of the benefits of being near Little Rock without actually having to be in the city.
Of course, not all suburbs of Little Rock are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. Using Saturday Night Science, we delve into the factors that matter most, from commutes and housing costs to community vibes, to help you uncover the perfect suburban spots in the Greater Little Rock area.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 best suburbs to live around Little Rock for 2025:
What’s the best suburb of Little Rock? Maumelle ranks as the best suburb of Little Rock for 2025 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Maumelle, you’re probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.
We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 Little Rock ‘burbs better than the rest–but first, a bit about our methodology.
Feel free to check out some more reading about Arkansas:
The 10 Best Little Rock Suburbs To Live For 2025
/10
Population: 19,286
Median Income: $92,466
Unemployment Rate: 3.9%
Poverty Rate: 9.0%
More on Maumelle: Data
Maumelle is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Little Rock area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome Maumelle.”
Everyone here is rich; families average $92,466 a year, which is the 2nd highest in the Little Rock region. And only 3.93% are out of work. Homes average more than $276,900 each.
2. Austin, AR
/10
Population: 3,805
Median Income: $93,315
Unemployment Rate: 2.5%
Poverty Rate: 2.7%
More on Austin:
Austin is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Little Rock for 2025.
It ranks 1st for incomes in the area and only 6.39% of residents lack insurance, good for 9th best.
/10
Population: 32,915
Median Income: $79,157
Unemployment Rate: 2.9%
Poverty Rate: 9.5%
More on Sherwood: Data
Here in Sherwood, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the Little Rock metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Sherwood.
/10
Population: 21,125
Median Income: $83,219
Unemployment Rate: 2.8%
Poverty Rate: 7.0%
More on Bryant: Data
Bryant ranks as the 4th best suburb of Little Rock for 2025.
You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Bryant and the schools are some of the best around.
5. Haskell, AR
/10
Population: 4,035
Median Income: $92,061
Unemployment Rate: 0.6%
Poverty Rate: 5.3%
More on Haskell:
Coming in as the fifth best is Haskell.
Haskell gets kudos for having the 13th most expensive homes in the Little Rock area, where houses sell for an average of $158,000. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
/10
Population: 26,733
Median Income: $72,656
Unemployment Rate: 2.9%
Poverty Rate: 10.8%
More on Cabot: Data
Cabot is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here’s why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 2.91%.
According to online reports, Cabot is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Little Rock area, meaning you need to get in soon.
There is not a whole lot to do in Cabot. There are a ton of dollar stores and everything closes down before 6pm… Except for Wal-mart, McDonald’s, and Waffle House. There is pretty much no night life for anyone that is not creepy. I lived there for about 10 years and hated it. The only reason that it gets a 25 rating is because Cabot has quite a few really fun thrift shops and flea markets. Cabot is also not as bad as Ward and Beebe.
Favorites: Dolly’s Flea Market, Grinds Coffee Co., China Buffet, Morina’s, and various consignment shops and flea markets.
Watch out for: The Purple Onion, Waffle House, and creepy men.
/10
Population: 35,954
Median Income: $69,638
Unemployment Rate: 4.4%
Poverty Rate: 10.1%
More on Benton: Data
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Benton.
Benton schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it’s only 15.9 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
High crime, nothing to do, bad schools, unsafe neighborhoods, high taxes, high rent prices, low home values, low wages, high gas prices. Friendly police force that tries very hard, they just can’t keep up with the city growing too fast.
The bowling ally used to be a great past time in Benton but sadly, it has been replaced by a fitness center. What was good is gone and what is bad is getting worse.
8. Vilonia, AR
/10
Population: 4,405
Median Income: $82,753
Unemployment Rate: 4.9%
Poverty Rate: 10.7%
More on Vilonia:
Vilonia is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 3.54% of people lack insurance, good for 2nd in the area.
/10
Population: 66,288
Median Income: $58,461
Unemployment Rate: 3.3%
Poverty Rate: 18.3%
More on Conway: Data
Is ‘Everything Better In Conway?’
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it’s really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
10. Shannon Hills, AR
/10
Population: 4,557
Median Income: $69,413
Unemployment Rate: 7.8%
Poverty Rate: 6.9%
More on Shannon Hills:
And rounding out the top ten for 2025 is Shannon Hills.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It’s far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Little Rock for 2025
Figuring out the best suburbs around Little Rock was simple. We used Saturday Night Science to find things people like about living in the suburbs and then locate the suburbs with those things.
We analyzed the newest American Community Survey data for 2019-2023 to research each suburb. We decided upon the following criteria:
- Low unemployment rate
- High median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college-educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Little Rock.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 17 suburbs to evaluate around Little Rock.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 17 in each category, where 1 was the “best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
Finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index, the “Best Suburb near Little Rock.” We’re lookin’ at you, Maumelle.
This result may differ from our state-wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a more extensive selection of suburbs.
We updated the data for 2025. This report is our tenth time ranking the best Little Rock suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
Summary: Welcome to the Best Little Rock ‘Burbs of 2025
We said it once, and we’ll say it again–life in the big city isn’t for everyone. At least not all the time.
The best suburbs of Little Rock are .
So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like Little Rock but don’t want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might be for you.
For more Arkansas reading, check out:
Table: Best Little Rock Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maumelle, AR | 19,286 | $92,466 | $276,900 |
| 2 | Austin, AR | 3,805 | $93,315 | $209,800 |
| 3 | Sherwood, AR | 32,915 | $79,157 | $190,900 |
| 4 | Bryant, AR | 21,125 | $83,219 | $223,400 |
| 5 | Haskell, AR | 4,035 | $92,061 | $158,000 |
| 6 | Cabot, AR | 26,733 | $72,656 | $197,000 |
| 7 | Benton, AR | 35,954 | $69,638 | $199,400 |
| 8 | Vilonia, AR | 4,405 | $82,753 | $210,700 |
| 9 | Conway, AR | 66,288 | $58,461 | $234,600 |
| 10 | Shannon Hills, AR | 4,557 | $69,413 | $175,200 |
| 11 | Mayflower, AR | 2,802 | $70,938 | $163,900 |
| 12 | Sheridan, AR | 5,063 | $61,025 | $182,300 |
| 13 | North Little Rock, AR | 64,504 | $51,236 | $169,500 |
| 14 | Alexander, AR | 3,488 | $69,022 | $157,700 |
| 15 | England, AR | 2,568 | $47,379 | $92,600 |
| 16 | Lonoke, AR | 4,260 | $49,323 | $123,700 |
| 17 | Jacksonville, AR | 29,285 | $46,947 | $155,300 |