Little Rock has plenty to offer, but the price of admission usually comes with traffic, sky-high rent, and a calendar that fills itself.
If you want the upside of Little Rock without the daily grind, the answer is almost always a good suburb. The catch: not every suburb is worth the move.
So we ranked them. Using Saturday Night Science, we pulled the numbers on every place within commuting distance of Little Rock: incomes, home prices, unemployment, schools, the works. The result is a no-nonsense ranking of where you actually want to live.
$103,333 median income · $307,539 median home price
Located in
Pulaski County, Arkansas
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 $103,333 a year, which is the 2nd highest in the Little Rock region. And only 3.8% are out of work. Homes average more than $307,539 each.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$113,764 median income · $246,225 median home price
Austin is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Little Rock for 2026.
It ranks 1st for incomes in the area and only 4.5% of residents lack insurance, good for 4th best.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$83,024 median income · $254,713 median home price
Located in
Saline County, Arkansas
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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$81,328 median income · $236,102 median home price
Located in
Pulaski County, Arkansas
Sherwood ranks as the 4th best suburb of Little Rock for 2026.
You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Sherwood and the schools are some of the best around.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$81,815 median income · $259,295 median home price
Coming in as the fifth best is Vilonia.
Vilonia gets kudos for having the 3rd most expensive homes in the Little Rock area, where houses sell for an average of $259,295. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$85,758 median income · $204,703 median home price
Haskell 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 0.8%.
According to online reports, Haskell is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Little Rock area, meaning you need to get in soon.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$75,000 median income · $247,085 median home price
Located in
Lonoke County, Arkansas
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Cabot.
Cabot 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 25.7 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$72,876 median income · $239,101 median home price
Located in
Saline County, Arkansas
Benton 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 7.2% of people lack insurance, good for 11th in the area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$63,004 median income · $244,316 median home price
Located in
Faulkner County, Arkansas
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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$71,318 median income · $195,279 median home price
And rounding out the top ten for 2026 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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Arkansas’s statewide median.
Arkansas statewide median: $60,773
Arkansas statewide median: $222,050
Arkansas statewide median: 4.9%
On the map
Where the best Little Rock suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the best suburbs around Little Rock for 2026
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 2020-2024 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 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the best Little Rock suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
The full plate
Table: Best Little Rock Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Suburb Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maumelle | 4.50 | 19,373 | $103,333 | $307,539 |
| 2 | Austin | 4.50 | 3,915 | $113,764 | $246,225 |
| 3 | Bryant | 5.57 | 21,504 | $83,024 | $254,713 |
| 4 | Sherwood | 5.64 | 33,070 | $81,328 | $236,102 |
| 5 | Vilonia | 6.57 | 4,498 | $81,815 | $259,295 |
| 6 | Haskell | 6.71 | 4,100 | $85,758 | $204,703 |
| 7 | Cabot | 6.93 | 26,960 | $75,000 | $247,085 |
| 8 | Benton | 7.07 | 36,595 | $72,876 | $239,101 |
| 9 | Conway | 8.79 | 67,642 | $63,004 | $244,316 |
| 10 | Shannon Hills | 8.79 | 4,641 | $71,318 | $195,279 |
| 11 | Mayflower | 10.07 | 2,861 | $75,682 | $214,991 |
| 12 | Alexander | 12.00 | 3,587 | $57,250 | $278,483 |
| 13 | Sheridan | 12.07 | 5,165 | $62,453 | $218,333 |
| 14 | England | 12.79 | 2,294 | $46,544 | $118,139 |
| 15 | Lonoke | 13.36 | 4,267 | $47,524 | $209,535 |
| 16 | North Little Rock | 13.71 | 64,538 | $52,707 | $165,643 |
| 17 | Jacksonville | 13.93 | 29,221 | $49,666 | $168,541 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 17 suburbs within 30 miles of Little Rock.
Summary
Summary: Welcome to the Best Little Rock ‘Burbs of 2026
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 Maumelle, Austin, Bryant, Sherwood, Vilonia, Haskell, Cabot, Benton, Conway, and Shannon Hills.
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. Not sold on Arkansas? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Best Suburbs Of Little Rock FAQs
What is the best suburb of Little Rock?
Maumelle is the best suburb of Little Rock for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Austin and Bryant are next.
What are the best suburbs of Little Rock?
The best suburbs of Little Rock are Maumelle, Austin, Bryant, Sherwood, Vilonia, Haskell, Cabot, Benton, Conway, and Shannon Hills. We ranked all 17 places within commuting range.
How expensive is Maumelle?
The median household income in Maumelle is $103,333 and the median home costs $307,539. Top suburbs rarely come cheap; that is part of how they got there.
What counts as a suburb of Little Rock?
Any place within 30 miles of Little Rock qualifies. 17 towns fit that circle, and every one of them got scored.
How do you rank Little Rock suburbs?
Each suburb is scored on income, home values, density, unemployment, education, insurance coverage, and poverty, using Census American Community Survey data. The best combined score, Maumelle, takes the crown.
