The unfortunate fact of the matter is that some places in the Natural State have a larger percent of their population that never graduated from high school.
While the emphasis on going to college might be overblown, the fact is that not graduating from high school puts you at a significant disadvantage on average. Educational attainment might not be the best way to measure one person’s intelligence, but it does shine a light on the state.
We will use Saturday Night Science to determine what places in Arkansas have the highest percentage of adults without a high school degree.
A recent study we published found that Arkansas is the 44th smartest state in the United States, with an average IQ of 97.
But that doesn’t mean that a few cities in Arkansas are a bit slower than others due to a lack of basic education.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Dumbest Places In Arkansas
Don’t freak out.
Some places are just smarter than others, but that says nothing about the character of the people living there. It’s another data point a real estate agent would never tell you.
For this ranking, we only looked at cities with populations greater than 5,000, leaving us 65 cities in Arkansas to rank. You can take a look at the data below.
For more Arkansas reading, check out:
The 10 Dumbest Places In Arkansas For 2025
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% Adult High School Dropout: 44.0%
% Highly Educated: 11.0%
More on De Queen: Data
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% Adult High School Dropout: 23.0%
% Highly Educated: 15.0%
More on Berryville: Data
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% Adult High School Dropout: 16.0%
% Highly Educated: 10.0%
More on Malvern: Data
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% Adult High School Dropout: 17.0%
% Highly Educated: 14.0%
More on Helena-West Helena: Data
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% Adult High School Dropout: 15.0%
% Highly Educated: 15.0%
More on West Memphis: Data
Methodology: How we determined the dumbest cities in the Natural State
We realize that formal education is only part of it when it comes to being intelligent, but on the other hand, knowing the difference between they’re, their, and there is always going to make you look pretty stupid.
So, we used Saturday Night Science to narrow down our criteria to focus on a city’s educational opportunities and what percentage of the population takes advantage of those opportunities.
In short, we came up with these criteria to determine the dumbest cities in Arkansas:
- % of the city’s population with less than a high school education (Age 25+)
- % of city’s population with a college degree (Age 25+)
We got the data from the U.S. Census 2019-2023 American Community Survey.
Then, our algorithm generates a rank for each place in these categories. After crunching all the numbers, a ranking of the cities in Arkansas from dumbest to brightest.
For this ranking, we used every Arkansas city with at least 5,000 residents. We updated this article for 2025, and it’s our tenth time ranking the dumbest cities in Arkansas.
There You Have It – Now That You’re Asleep
If you’re measuring the locations in Arkansas where there are a high number of dropouts and adults who never received a formal education, this is an accurate ranking.
The dumbest cities in Arkansas are De Queen, Trumann, Newport, Berryville, Osceola, Malvern, Helena-West Helena, Hope, Wynne, and West Memphis.
If you’re also curious enough, here are the smartest places in Arkansas, according to science:
- Cave Springs
- Maumelle
- Fayetteville
For more Arkansas reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Arkansas
- Cheapest Places To Live In Arkansas
- Most Dangerous Places in Arkansas
- Richest Cities In Arkansas
- Safest Places In Arkansas
- Worst Places To Live In Arkansas
- Most Expensive Places To Live In Arkansas
Dumbest Cities In Arkansas For 2025
| Rank | City | Population | % Adult High School Dropout | % Highly Educated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | De Queen, AR | 6,077 | 44.0% | 11.0% |
| 2 | Trumann, AR | 7,432 | 19.0% | 11.0% |
| 3 | Newport, AR | 8,019 | 18.0% | 11.0% |
| 4 | Berryville, AR | 5,715 | 23.0% | 15.0% |
| 5 | Osceola, AR | 6,807 | 16.0% | 9.0% |
| 6 | Malvern, AR | 10,938 | 16.0% | 10.0% |
| 7 | Helena-West Helena, AR | 9,218 | 17.0% | 14.0% |
| 8 | Hope, AR | 8,787 | 19.0% | 15.0% |
| 9 | Wynne, AR | 8,220 | 20.0% | 17.0% |
| 10 | West Memphis, AR | 24,147 | 15.0% | 15.0% |
| 11 | Pocahontas, AR | 7,475 | 14.0% | 14.0% |
| 12 | El Dorado, AR | 17,382 | 14.0% | 16.0% |
| 13 | Clarksville, AR | 9,500 | 17.0% | 19.0% |
| 14 | Springdale, AR | 87,388 | 25.0% | 24.0% |
| 15 | Camden, AR | 10,427 | 14.0% | 18.0% |
| 16 | Heber Springs, AR | 7,101 | 12.0% | 16.0% |
| 17 | Stuttgart, AR | 8,060 | 12.0% | 16.0% |
| 18 | Walnut Ridge, AR | 5,440 | 16.0% | 22.0% |
| 19 | Paragould, AR | 29,940 | 11.0% | 16.0% |
| 20 | Batesville, AR | 11,385 | 14.0% | 21.0% |
| 21 | Texarkana, AR | 29,343 | 12.0% | 17.0% |
| 22 | Van Buren, AR | 23,545 | 13.0% | 19.0% |
| 23 | Fort Smith, AR | 89,496 | 17.0% | 25.0% |
| 24 | Blytheville, AR | 13,026 | 11.0% | 16.0% |
| 25 | Morrilton, AR | 7,022 | 9.0% | 15.0% |
| 26 | Beebe, AR | 8,580 | 12.0% | 19.0% |
| 27 | Harrison, AR | 13,217 | 10.0% | 16.0% |
| 28 | Magnolia, AR | 10,973 | 14.0% | 21.0% |
| 29 | Warren, AR | 5,342 | 10.0% | 16.0% |
| 30 | Siloam Springs, AR | 18,096 | 16.0% | 27.0% |
| 31 | Pine Bluff, AR | 40,436 | 12.0% | 22.0% |
| 32 | Mountain Home, AR | 13,021 | 11.0% | 20.0% |
| 33 | Lowell, AR | 10,438 | 14.0% | 29.0% |
| 34 | Russellville, AR | 29,057 | 15.0% | 30.0% |
| 35 | Alma, AR | 5,879 | 8.0% | 18.0% |
| 36 | Monticello, AR | 8,320 | 12.0% | 26.0% |
| 37 | Ward, AR | 6,367 | 9.0% | 23.0% |
| 38 | Mena, AR | 5,605 | 7.0% | 19.0% |
| 39 | Pea Ridge, AR | 7,348 | 9.0% | 24.0% |
| 40 | Jacksonville, AR | 29,285 | 9.0% | 24.0% |
| 41 | Hot Springs, AR | 38,023 | 11.0% | 28.0% |
| 42 | Rogers, AR | 71,411 | 13.0% | 34.0% |
| 43 | Sheridan, AR | 5,063 | 9.0% | 24.0% |
| 44 | North Little Rock, AR | 64,504 | 10.0% | 30.0% |
| 45 | Greenbrier, AR | 5,875 | 1.0% | 19.0% |
| 46 | Prairie Grove, AR | 7,445 | 5.0% | 21.0% |
| 47 | Jonesboro, AR | 79,187 | 9.0% | 29.0% |
| 48 | Searcy, AR | 23,115 | 9.0% | 30.0% |
| 49 | Marion, AR | 13,641 | 6.0% | 25.0% |
| 50 | Cabot, AR | 26,733 | 6.0% | 26.0% |
| 51 | Greenwood, AR | 9,570 | 7.0% | 29.0% |
| 52 | Benton, AR | 35,954 | 6.0% | 29.0% |
| 53 | White Hall, AR | 5,520 | 8.0% | 37.0% |
| 54 | Bryant, AR | 21,125 | 7.0% | 37.0% |
| 55 | Tontitown, AR | 5,739 | 8.0% | 45.0% |
| 56 | Sherwood, AR | 32,915 | 6.0% | 34.0% |
| 57 | Arkadelphia, AR | 10,316 | 6.0% | 32.0% |
| 58 | Conway, AR | 66,288 | 6.0% | 41.0% |
| 59 | Little Rock, AR | 202,739 | 6.0% | 45.0% |
| 60 | Farmington, AR | 8,469 | 4.0% | 34.0% |
| 61 | Centerton, AR | 20,212 | 4.0% | 41.0% |
| 62 | Bentonville, AR | 56,326 | 5.0% | 53.0% |
| 63 | Fayetteville, AR | 97,227 | 4.0% | 50.0% |
| 64 | Maumelle, AR | 19,286 | 3.0% | 51.0% |
| 65 | Cave Springs, AR | 5,778 | 3.0% | 55.0% |
Stupid is as stupid does. You sir or madam are stupid!!! You would call all people without a HS or college degree dumb. Abe Lincoln, Bill Gates included???
This comes from a guy who still lives with his mom,who his self can not get a real job.He sits in front of a computer that he received at Christmas.He has no girlfriend,no car,and crystal his self to sleep at night..
Sorry typo crys his self to sleep.
He crystals too. I mean, gotta be high to assume all of the people there are dumb. I’m a citizen of Hope, myself, and while our public school stinks, I myself have an IQ of 146, only 14 points below Einstein.
The comments are amazing. Name calling and quotes from fictional characters. lol
If you want to dispute the article, use facts, not butthurt.
I agree, it should be “uneducated” not “dumb”, but it highlights a serious issue in this state. Also, it’s a a web article, meant to provoke an emotional response to get views. You do understand that right?