The 10 Worst Small Towns In Arkansas For 2023


We used Saturday Night Science to determine the worst small towns in Arkansas.

Most Americans have never been to small town Arkansas. However, as the Arkansan who live there know, small town Arkansas is an awesome place to call home.

But is it all roses? Definitely not. Just like any other state, Arkansas has its trouble spots. This article aims to determine, using Saturday Night Science, the absolute worst small towns to live in the Natural State. Don’t freak out, we will use data to show which places have high crime, poverty, and unemployment.

After analyzing more than 142 of Arkansas’s smallest cities, we came up with this list as the 10 worst small towns in Arkansas where you’d never want to live:

These are the worst small towns in Arkansas for 2023:

  1. Wickes
  2. Eudora
  3. Brinkley
  4. Horatio
  5. Sweet Home
  6. Marked Tree
  7. Luxora
  8. Dermott
  9. Stamps
  10. Earle

So what is the worst small town to call home in Arkansas for 2023? According to the most recent census data, Wickes is the worst small town to live in Arkansas.

While many of these small towns have seen better days, they have wonderful communities and people. This report in no way means to knock the folks that call towns like Wickes home. Everyone

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers, or scroll to the bottom to see how your town ranked.

And if you already know about the small towns, check out the best places to live in Arkansas or the worst places to live in Arkansas.

If you’re looking for something more national, check out the worst cities in America or the worst states in America.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


The 10 Worst Small Towns In Arkansas For 2023

1. Wickes

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,062
Median Home Value: $65,200 (17th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 8.4% (39th worst)

2. Eudora

Eudora, AR

Source: Wikipedia User tara young | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 2,251
Median Home Value: $42,600 (2nd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 26.9% (2nd worst)

3. Brinkley

Brinkley, AR

Source: Wikipedia User Brandonrush | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

1
/10

Population: 2,742
Median Home Value: $75,900 (35th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 17.4% (8th worst)

4. Horatio

Overall SnackAbility

/10

Population: 1,024
Median Home Value: $63,300 (13th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 8.7% (37th worst)

5. Sweet Home

Overall SnackAbility

/10

Population: 1,286
Median Home Value: $64,100 (15th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 10.3% (24th worst)

6. Marked Tree

Overall SnackAbility

2
/10

Population: 2,144
Median Home Value: $62,600 (12th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 5.2% (78th worst)

7. Luxora

Overall SnackAbility

/10

Population: 1,057
Median Home Value: $29,400 (worst)
Unemployment Rate: 11.8% (2worst)

8. Dermott

Dermott, AR

Source: Wikipedia User Brandonrush | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,584
Median Home Value: $74,600 (30th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 20.5% (3rd worst)

9. Stamps

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,530
Median Home Value: $51,500 (5th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 19.4% (4th worst)

10. Earle

Earle, AR

Source: Wikipedia User Thomas R Machnitzki | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

2
/10

Population: 1,888
Median Home Value: $65,400 (18th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 17.9% (7th worst)

Methodology: How do you decide if a small place in Arkansas is lousy or not?

To rank the worst small towns to live in Arkansas, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place. Assuming that people like low crime, solid education, things to do, and a stable economy isn’t a stretch.

We then analyzed the criteria using Saturday Night Science, the thinking you’d use at a bar. It seems like even your crazy Uncle would agree that a town with high crime is worse than a town with low crime; all else the same.

Using FBI crime data and the Census’s 2017-2021 American Community Survey, this is the criteria we used:

  • Population Density (The lower, the worse)
  • Highest Unemployment Rates
  • Low housing costs (meaning there’s no demand)
  • Adjusted Median Income (Median income adjusted for the cost of living)
  • Education (Number of high school dropouts)
  • High Crime

We looked at cities with populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people, of which there were many – 142 to be exact.

We get the crime numbers from the FBI, which gets them from the cities. Dropout numbers are based on the adult population, not just the current graduation rates of teenagers.

We base all our research on facts, which is meant as infotainment. We updated this article for 2023, which is our tenth time ranking the worst small places to live in Arkansas.

There You Have It – The Worst Small Towns In Arkansas

If you’re analyzing teeny places in the Natural State with the worst economic situations, where there’s high crime and there’s not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.

If you’re curious enough, here are the best small towns to live in Arkansas, according to science:

  1. Lake Hamilton (Pop. 1,947)
  2. Salem (Pop. 2,238)
  3. Johnson (Pop. 3,612)

For more Arkansas reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Small Towns In Arkansas

Rank Town Population Unemployment Rate Home Value
1 Wickes 1,062 8.4% $65,200
2 Eudora 2,251 26.9% $42,600
3 Brinkley 2,742 17.4% $75,900
4 Horatio 1,024 8.7% $63,300
5 Sweet Home 1,286 10.3% $64,100
6 Marked Tree 2,144 5.2% $62,600
7 Luxora 1,057 11.8% $29,400
8 Dermott 2,584 20.5% $74,600
9 Stamps 1,530 19.4% $51,500
10 Earle 1,888 17.9% $65,400
11 Waldron 3,333 12.5% $76,500
12 Ozark 3,559 14.8% $79,500
13 North Crossett 2,771 8.4% $63,600
14 Kensett 2,207 2.4% $66,500
15 Marvell 1,232 18.9% $47,700
16 Waldo 1,337 4.9% $47,100
17 Hamburg 2,649 9.3% $68,400
18 Glenwood 1,845 2.7% $78,600
19 Clarendon 1,480 12.8% $64,400
20 Marianna 3,660 19.3% $75,700
21 Newark 1,321 2.0% $80,400
22 Mcgehee 3,895 5.2% $93,200
23 Foreman 1,121 12.6% $68,400
24 Piney 4,744 13.3% $97,200
25 Lepanto 1,785 9.8% $59,500
26 Flippin 1,296 13.0% $92,000
27 Murfreesboro 1,800 6.8% $79,500
28 Ash Flat 1,293 5.6% $66,400
29 Cherokee Village 4,977 17.1% $71,900
30 Melbourne 1,992 8.0% $79,000
31 Calico Rock 2,001 2.1% $81,900
32 Mccrory 1,729 4.2% $80,900
33 Decatur 1,416 6.1% $103,700
34 Hoxie 2,618 9.6% $73,300
35 Caraway 1,239 9.7% $55,900
36 Horseshoe Bend 2,432 14.5% $83,000
37 Rector 1,924 9.1% $55,100
38 Green Forest 2,983 5.1% $88,300
39 Mulberry 1,516 5.9% $67,900
40 Swifton 1,229 11.4% $56,000
41 Dewitt 2,993 8.1% $93,200
42 Salem 1,433 1.5% $73,800
43 Mansfield 1,228 10.1% $94,600
44 Dumas 4,059 7.6% $78,900
45 Bald Knob 2,564 6.5% $115,700
46 Landmark 3,442 6.2% $99,100
47 Wrightsville 1,565 4.7% $74,100
48 Fordyce 3,516 9.5% $56,700
49 Yellville 1,195 16.3% $135,700
50 Clinton 2,525 2.7% $115,200
51 Leachville 2,383 7.5% $88,500
52 Marshall 1,421 3.9% $98,700
53 Mcalmont 1,327 41.5% $176,700
54 Atkins 2,869 9.3% $75,600
55 Gurdon 2,051 5.2% $69,400
56 Lamar 1,535 3.2% $102,400
57 Nashville 4,193 9.9% $150,700
58 Booneville 3,828 8.4% $85,300
59 Lonoke 4,181 12.5% $95,700
60 Dover 2,342 5.5% $97,500
61 Diaz 1,213 8.9% $78,400
62 Prescott 3,076 4.2% $54,400
63 Judsonia 2,150 4.3% $90,600
64 Danville 2,104 5.0% $103,700
65 Alexander 3,363 6.7% $87,400
66 Corning 3,226 7.7% $76,800
67 Hampton 1,470 6.8% $81,700
68 Harrisburg 2,700 6.0% $78,700
69 Marmaduke 1,581 8.1% $101,900
70 Paris 3,254 5.1% $95,500
71 Barling 4,802 2.4% $105,200
72 Lake Village 2,247 6.9% $86,200
73 Cave City 2,291 4.8% $86,400
74 Little Flock 2,977 7.7% $290,100
75 Mountain View 2,833 0.0% $180,400
76 Des Arc 1,341 5.5% $75,000
77 Huntsville 2,809 6.0% $111,300
78 Crossett 4,888 1.9% $92,000
79 Tuckerman 1,741 3.5% $74,600
80 Monette 1,317 5.5% $103,500
81 Bono 2,434 10.7% $109,200
82 Bay 2,348 5.7% $88,500
83 Lake City 2,122 8.8% $103,700
84 Cedarville 1,597 1.9% $133,100
85 Mount Ida 1,218 9.5% $158,600
86 Carlisle 2,282 6.0% $86,000
87 Gassville 2,324 7.7% $100,100
88 Perryville 1,331 4.7% $86,700
89 Piggott 3,629 4.7% $84,500
90 Hazen 1,739 5.9% $103,900
91 Lincoln 2,269 4.7% $117,200
92 Bull Shoals 1,728 14.3% $131,000
93 Eureka Springs 2,159 0.9% $182,900
94 Dardanelle 4,532 5.5% $108,000
95 Sulphur Springs 1,173 0.0% $111,400
96 England 2,502 5.6% $93,200
97 Mammoth Spring 1,173 2.0% $82,100
98 Mineral Springs 1,130 7.5% $84,700
99 Cotter 1,019 3.2% $136,100
100 Smackover 2,000 6.1% $95,500
About Nick Johnson

Nick Johnson earned his masters in Business Administration from the Drucker School At Claremont Graduate University. He has written for 39 publications across the country and ran the media relations department at Movoto, a real estate portal based in San Francisco. He has been featured in over 500 publications as an expert in real estate and as an authority on real estate trends.

Nick's the creator of the HomeSnacks YouTube channel that now has over 260,000 subscribers and is an excellent source to learn about different parts of the country.

6 thoughts on “The 10 Worst Small Towns In Arkansas For 2023

  1. What about Timbo, ar? I didn’t see it on the list and I got excited someone was doing small towns in Arkansas but I didn’t see it on the big list!!

  2. I grew up in Pyatt. I graduated from high school. I moved away. I wish I hadn’t of. I love Pyatt.

  3. My grandparent’s lived in Pyatt (Eunice and Tinnie Markle) about 1965. I have fond memories visiting a little grocery store with him before we went fishing at a local creek. They lived on the main road going into town from the hwy. The house was on the right and had a steep driveway with a hard u turn. One day the brakes went out on the old Ford pick up and we flew straight into the garden. The only other memory was of a little gas station on the main hwy where I went to get candy. It was a boring town back then and everybody was in everybody else’s personal business. I guess it was because there wasn’t anything else to do.

  4. I am Glad Twist Arkansas did not make the list . The home of blues legend B B KING’S famous guitar LUCILE. The original one that started the Guitar Legend !

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