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Big city living isn't for everyone--but at the same time, urban areas certainly have their perks.
There's the culture, the food, the arts, the food, the energy, and you know, the food. But there are drawbacks. There's traffic, expensive parking, expensive housing--pretty much, expensive everything, depending on which big city you're looking at.
But that's where the suburbs come in--they have all of the benefits of being near big cities, without actually having to be big cities.
Of course, not all suburbs of Little Rock are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. So without further ado...
What's the best suburb of Little Rock? Maumelle ranks as the best suburb of Little Rock for 2022 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.
Note: 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 larger selection of suburbs.
Feel free to check out some more reading about Arkansas:
The 10 Best Little Rock Suburbs To Live For 2022
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 $84,112 a year, which is the highest in the Little Rock region. And only 4.1% are out of work. Homes average more than $224,100 each.
/10
Population: 18,193
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $84,112
Unemployment Rate: 4.1%
Poverty Rate: 5.8%
More on Maumelle: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Sherwood is the second best 'burb we looked at near Little Rock for 2022.
It ranks 7th for incomes in the area and only 4.54% of residents lack insurance, good for 2nd best.
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Population: 31,225
Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 1)
Median Income: $63,877
Unemployment Rate: 2.7%
Poverty Rate: 8.9%
More on Sherwood: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Here in Bryant, 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 Bryant.
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Population: 20,563
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Median Income: $71,802
Unemployment Rate: 3.2%
Poverty Rate: 6.6%
More on Bryant: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Shannon Hills ranks as the 4th best suburb of Little Rock for 2022.
You won't find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Shannon Hills and the schools are some of the best around.
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Population: 3,914
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 2)
Median Income: $67,262
Unemployment Rate: 3.6%
Poverty Rate: 2.6%
More on Shannon Hills: Real Estate | Data
Coming in as the fifth best is Vilonia.
Vilonia gets kudos for having the 4th most expensive homes in the Little Rock area, where houses sell for an average of $162,200. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
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Population: 4,556
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 3)
Median Income: $70,565
Unemployment Rate: 1.8%
Poverty Rate: 13.8%
More on Vilonia: Real Estate | Data
Austin 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 3.68% which is 8th best in the area.
According to online reports, Austin is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Little Rock area, meaning you need to get in soon.
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Population: 3,698
Rank Last Year: 9 (Up 3)
Median Income: $76,648
Unemployment Rate: 3.7%
Poverty Rate: 5.7%
More on Austin: Real Estate | 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.
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Population: 36,360
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 2)
Median Income: $59,994
Unemployment Rate: 3.7%
Poverty Rate: 8.1%
More on Benton: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Conway 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 8.52% of people lack insurance, good for 12th in the area.
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Population: 66,776
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 1)
Median Income: $47,999
Unemployment Rate: 3.3%
Poverty Rate: 18.7%
More on Conway: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Is 'Everything Better In Cabot?'
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.
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Population: 26,376
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 3)
Median Income: $59,167
Unemployment Rate: 5.0%
Poverty Rate: 12.5%
More on Cabot: Real Estate | Data | Photos
And rounding out the top ten for 2022 is Sheridan.
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.
/10
Population: 4,919
Rank Last Year: 10 (No Change)
Median Income: $46,938
Unemployment Rate: 1.6%
Poverty Rate: 14.5%
More on Sheridan: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Little Rock for 2022
Figuring out the best suburbs around Little Rock was pretty simple; we just needed to list several things that people like, and then find out which cities have the most of those things.
We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible:
- 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
Then we used the newest American Community Survey data for 2016-2020 to research each suburb.
FYI: 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.
And finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index the "Best Suburb near Little Rock." We're lookin' at you, Maumelle. You can download the data here.
Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the best of the best. Or 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 2022
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.
So if you're hankering for some of the amenities of a larger city like Little Rock, but don't want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might just be for you.
For more Arkansas reading, check out:
Detailed List Of The Best Little Rock Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maumelle, AR | 18,193 |
| 2 | Sherwood, AR | 31,225 |
| 3 | Bryant, AR | 20,563 |
| 4 | Shannon Hills, AR | 3,914 |
| 5 | Vilonia, AR | 4,556 |
| 6 | Austin, AR | 3,698 |
| 7 | Benton, AR | 36,360 |
| 8 | Conway, AR | 66,776 |
| 9 | Cabot, AR | 26,376 |
| 10 | Sheridan, AR | 4,919 |
| 11 | Mayflower, AR | 2,250 |
| 12 | Haskell, AR | 4,559 |
| 13 | North Little Rock, AR | 66,079 |
| 14 | Jacksonville, AR | 28,442 |
| 15 | England, AR | 2,713 |
| 16 | Alexander, AR | 3,263 |
| 17 | Lonoke, AR | 4,206 |
