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Lowell, Centerton, Bentonville: These cities aren't just some of the best places to live in Arkansas. They are also home to some of the richest people in the Natural State.
Lowell in particular houses the richest residents in the state thanks, in part, to a median household income of $68,438 and a ridiculously low poverty rate of 5.629175336764868%.
If you're thinking of moving to one of these towns, you'll probably need to start saving. The richest places in Arkansas share common characteristics such as having a genius level populous, sky high home prices, and a Pleasantville level of married couples.
How did we come up with these mega wealthy cities? We analyzed Census data from the 2015-2019 American Community Survey for the 63 places in Arkansas with more than 5,000 people.
Here are the 10 richest places in Arkansas for 2021:
For more on how we calculated the top ten, read on or skip to the end for the full list of the richest cities in Arkansas.
Rich people not your cup of tea? Feel free to check out some more reading about Arkansas:
The 10 Richest Cities In Arkansas For 2021
1. Lowell
/10
Population: 9,175
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $68,438
Unemployment Rate: 1.0%
Poverty Rate: 5.6%
More on Lowell: Real Estate | Photos
2. Centerton
/10
Population: 14,203
Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 1)
Median Income: $75,631
Unemployment Rate: 2.0%
Poverty Rate: 7.5%
More on Centerton: Real Estate | Photos
3. Bentonville
/10
Population: 49,467
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Median Income: $80,392
Unemployment Rate: 2.3%
Poverty Rate: 7.6%
More on Bentonville: Real Estate | Photos
4. Pea Ridge
/10
Population: 5,717
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 2)
Median Income: $63,918
Unemployment Rate: 2.2%
Poverty Rate: 7.1%
More on Pea Ridge: Real Estate | Photos
5. Maumelle
/10
Population: 18,142
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 3)
Median Income: $84,341
Unemployment Rate: 3.3%
Poverty Rate: 5.4%
More on Maumelle: Real Estate | Photos
6. White Hall
/10
Population: 5,078
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 4)
Median Income: $73,043
Unemployment Rate: 2.1%
Poverty Rate: 10.7%
More on White Hall: Real Estate | Photos
7. Farmington
/10
Population: 6,992
Rank Last Year: 7 (No Change)
Median Income: $57,586
Unemployment Rate: 2.4%
Poverty Rate: 4.2%
More on Farmington: Real Estate | Photos
8. Bryant
/10
Population: 20,231
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 3)
Median Income: $66,688
Unemployment Rate: 2.5%
Poverty Rate: 8.0%
More on Bryant: Real Estate | Photos
9. Rogers
/10
Population: 66,344
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 1)
Median Income: $61,551
Unemployment Rate: 2.4%
Poverty Rate: 10.5%
More on Rogers: Real Estate | Photos
10. Prairie Grove
/10
Population: 5,845
Rank Last Year: 9 (Down 1)
Median Income: $62,807
Unemployment Rate: 3.4%
Poverty Rate: 6.7%
More on Prairie Grove: Real Estate | Photos
How We Determined The Richest Places In Arkansas For 2021
The first thing that comes to most people's minds when they think about determining the richest places is to simply identify personal incomes. After all, rich people have really high salaries.
However, we don't believe that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the "richest places". So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2015-2019 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
- Unemployment Rate
Median household income is the most digestible way to understand how rich a place really is. The unemployment rate tries to capture the prospects for more people to become rich. If more people are employed, the richer the future looks.
After we collected the data for all 63 places with more than 5,000 people in Arkansas, we ranked each place from 1 to 63 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the richest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a "Rich Score" with the place having the lowest overall Rich Score, Lowell, crowned the "Richest City In Arkansas For 2021". You can download the data here.
You can learn more about the top ten below or skip to the end to see the rankings for all 63 places.
There You Have It - The Wealthiest Places In Arkansas For 2021
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the richest places in Arkansas, we weren't sure what we'd encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Arkansas.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very top of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you're curious enough, here are the poorest cities in Arkansas, according to data:
Poorest: Helena-West Helena
2nd Poorest: Osceola
3rd Poorest: Camden
For more Arkansas reading, check out:
- Worst Places To Live In Arkansas
- Best Places To Live In Arkansas
- Cheapest Places To Live In Arkansas
Detailed List Of The Richest Cities In Arkansas
| Rank | City | RichScore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lowell | 3.33 |
| 2 | Centerton | 4.0 |
| 3 | Bentonville | 5.33 |
| 4 | Pea Ridge | 6.33 |
| 5 | Maumelle | 6.67 |
| 6 | White Hall | 8.0 |
| 7 | Farmington | 8.33 |
| 8 | Bryant | 9.0 |
| 9 | Rogers | 11.0 |
| 10 | Prairie Grove | 11.0 |
| 11 | Sherwood | 11.67 |
| 12 | Cabot | 14.0 |
| 13 | Benton | 15.33 |
| 14 | Ward | 15.33 |
| 15 | Greenbrier | 19.0 |
| 16 | Marion | 19.67 |
| 17 | Little Rock | 20.67 |
| 18 | Conway | 22.33 |
| 19 | Greenwood | 22.33 |
| 20 | Heber Springs | 23.0 |
| 21 | Berryville | 24.33 |
| 22 | Springdale | 25.0 |
| 23 | Mountain Home | 25.33 |
| 24 | Beebe | 27.33 |
| 25 | Trumann | 27.67 |
| 26 | Batesville | 28.33 |
| 27 | Siloam Springs | 29.0 |
| 28 | Jacksonville | 29.67 |
| 29 | Alma | 30.33 |
| 30 | Stuttgart | 31.33 |
| 31 | Paragould | 32.33 |
| 32 | Clarksville | 33.0 |
| 33 | Fort Smith | 33.33 |
| 34 | Van Buren | 33.33 |
| 35 | Jonesboro | 33.33 |
| 36 | Fayetteville | 33.33 |
| 37 | Wynne | 35.0 |
| 38 | Searcy | 37.0 |
| 39 | Walnut Ridge | 39.0 |
| 40 | North Little Rock | 39.33 |
| 41 | El Dorado | 39.33 |
| 42 | Monticello | 39.33 |
| 43 | Harrison | 39.67 |
| 44 | Pocahontas | 40.33 |
| 45 | Hope | 41.0 |
| 46 | De Queen | 41.33 |
| 47 | Arkadelphia | 42.0 |
| 48 | Hot Springs | 43.0 |
| 49 | Texarkana | 44.67 |
| 50 | Russellville | 45.67 |
| 51 | Forrest City | 50.67 |
| 52 | Morrilton | 50.67 |
| 53 | Malvern | 51.0 |
| 54 | Warren | 51.33 |
| 55 | Blytheville | 51.67 |
| 56 | Pine Bluff | 55.0 |
| 57 | West Memphis | 55.67 |
| 58 | Newport | 56.33 |
| 59 | Mena | 57.0 |
| 60 | Magnolia | 57.0 |
| 61 | Camden | 57.67 |
| 62 | Osceola | 59.33 |
| 63 | Helena-West Helena | 62.67 |
