Arkansas cities

The best places to live in Arkansas

Arkansas's largest cities ranked on cost, safety, schools, jobs and quality of life. Centerton leads the list.

We scored Arkansas's cities on the same factors as our state rankings, then ranked them. Below are the 10 largest by population. Two scores per city: value (what you get for the cost) and overall livability (everything combined). Tap any city for its full profile.

#CityMedian homeRentValueOverall
4 Bentonville $281,800 $1,055 63 82
7 Rogers $199,000 $989 73 70
11 Conway $195,800 $867 35 54
14 Springdale $169,700 $859 50 47
15 Fayetteville $255,600 $869 27 46
16 Fort Smith $137,800 $740 44 44
17 Little Rock $179,500 $940 36 42
20 Jonesboro $169,100 $828 25 35
24 Pine Bluff $78,500 $764 48 24
26 North Little Rock $149,200 $913 19 22

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Sources: Home prices and rent from Zillow; income and jobs from the U.S. Census; schools from state education data; crime from the FBI; air quality from the EPA. Rankings are within Arkansas. Updated 2026.