City · Independence County, Arkansas

Batesville, Arkansas

Batesville is a city in Independence County, Arkansas, part of the Batesville, AR metro area. It has 11,445 residents. Batesville, Arkansas has a quality-of-life score of 14 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,454 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Arkansas it ranks #100 of 218 cities and towns. It ranks best on average commute time (low), rent-burdened households (low) and homicide rate (low). It ranks worst on child poverty rate (high), distance to an emergency room (high) and preventable hospital stays (high).

14Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,454 of 15,651 cities and towns
Arkansas: #100 of 218 in AR
Population: 11,445 (2020-2024)
Land area: 12 mi²
Density: 987.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 0504030

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety33#10,489/15,637
Economy13#13,545/15,631
Housing97#460/14,977
Health15#13,193/15,609
Healthcare10#14,133/15,650
Environment32#10,512/15,453
Education24#11,949/15,649
Infrastructure28#11,254/15,650
Community7#14,528/15,651
Leisure & amenities17#12,942/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Batesville, Arkansas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Independence County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Average commute time · low12.9 min
99/100Arkansas 22.5 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Rent-burdened households · low37.9%
95/100Arkansas 44.8%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Arkansas 7.0 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100k2024Centers for Disease Control and PreventionIndependence County value
Job growth · high2.5%
91/100Arkansas -0.1%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataIndependence County value
Rent as share of income · low26.2%
91/100Arkansas 27.6%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Effective property tax rate · low0.49%
88/100Arkansas 0.56%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090

Weaknesses

Child poverty rate · high45.6%
1/100Arkansas 19.6%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Distance to an emergency room · high22.7 mi
2/100Arkansas 7.3 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesIndependence County value
Preventable hospital stays · high4,951 /100k
2/100Arkansas 3,115 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteIndependence County value
Drought exposure · high99%
2/100Arkansas 78%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAIndependence County value
Voter turnout · low50.7%
5/100Arkansas 52.5%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionIndependence County value
Firearm deaths · high26.1 /100k
5/100Arkansas 18.5 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataIndependence County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
10,706 (2015-2019) → 11,445 (2020-2024)
+6.9%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
0.8 /1k (2021) → 2.4 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+191%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
60.4% (2015-2019) → 86.7% (2020-2024)
+26 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateWorsening
23.2% (2015-2019) → 45.6% (2020-2024)
+22 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateWorsening
18.0% (2015-2019) → 26.3% (2020-2024)
+8.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
High school diploma or higherImproving
83.5% (2015-2019) → 87.4% (2020-2024)
+3.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Batesville, Arkansas improved on 1 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 10 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Broadband+26 points60.4% → 86.7%

Declined2

Child poverty+22 points23.2% → 45.6%
Poverty+8.3 points18.0% → 26.3%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Batesville, Arkansas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	12.3 min2015-2019	12.9 min2020-2024	+0.7 min	Within the margin of error	40%
Bachelor's degree or higher	25.4%2015-2019	21.8%2020-2024	−3.6 points	Within the margin of error	10%
Broadband subscriptions	60.4%2015-2019	86.7%2020-2024	+26 points	Improved	96%
Child poverty rate	23.2%2015-2019	45.6%2020-2024	+22 points	Declined	4%
Effective property tax rate	0.73%2015-2019	0.49%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Little change	65%
High school diploma or higher	83.5%2015-2019	87.4%2020-2024	+3.9 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Home price to income ratio	2.8×2015-2019	3.2×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	55%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4822015-2019	0.4892020-2024	+0.007	Within the margin of error	44%
Median household income	$45,2022015-2019	$51,8562020-2024	+15%	Within the margin of error	23%
Poverty rate	18.0%2015-2019	26.3%2020-2024	+8.3 points	Declined	6%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	26.9%2015-2019	26.2%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Rent-burdened households	41.4%2015-2019	37.9%2020-2024	−3.5 points	Within the margin of error	68%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	12.6%2015-2019	15.9%2020-2024	+3.3 points	Within the margin of error	17%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Batesville, Arkansas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Batesville, Arkansas in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Batesville, Arkansas itself moved +2.7 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

11,445 residents (±31)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

4,043 households (±315)

Batesville, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Under $25k22%872
$25k–50k27%1,076
$50k–75k21%850

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

4,043 households (±315)

Batesville, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Own51%2,082
Rent49%1,961

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−8.2 points).

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

4,852 workers (±377)

Batesville, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Drive alone79%3,835
Carpool11%†526
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Batesville, AR

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Independence County, the county holding most of Batesville's residents.

Independence County has 810 employer establishments, 211 for every 10,000 residents (0.85× the US rate of 248; 0.92× Arkansas's), with 16,206 paid employees at an average annual pay of $51,380. The Census Bureau also counts 2,600 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 810; 2,600 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 211; US 248 · Arkansas 229
Paid employees: 16,206
Average annual pay: $51,380; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Independence County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	85	22.1	1.06×About typical	620	$56,803	149
Restaurants and other eating places	61	15.9	0.86×About typical	1,050	$17,589	11
Religious organizations	41	10.7	1.92×More than typical	230	$20,309	—
Specialty trade contractors	38	9.9	0.64×Fewer than typical	731	$55,959	231
Limited-service restaurants	31	8.1	1.01×About typical	663	$17,324	—
Offices of other health practitioners	28	7.3	1.20×About typical	120	$42,592	59
Truck transportation	26	6.8	1.34×More than typical	353	$56,881	85
Automotive repair and maintenance	22	5.7	1.14×About typical	85	$42,753	44
Gasoline stations	21	5.5	1.68×More than typical	168	$24,780	—
Offices of physicians	21	5.5	0.84×About typical	121	$60,008	22
Banks and credit unions	20	5.2	1.61×More than typical	395	$61,309	—
Building equipment contractors	20	5.2	0.86×About typical	675	$56,917	53

Rank places for an industry Open Independence County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 38,452 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $111.6K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Batesville, Arkansas: $9.75 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $111.6K
Per resident: $9.75; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Agricultural Marketing Service$115.2K100%
Social Security Administration$5,8815.3%
Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services$5760.5%

Top recipients

SOUTHEASTERN FOOD DISTRIBUTION INC$62.6K56%
GEORGE'S, INC.$52.5K47%
FRANCONIA REAL ESTATE SERVICES, INC.$5,8815.3%
PREMIERE INSTALL MOVERS, LLC$5760.5%
BATESVILLE HEALTHCARE LLC-$10K0.0%

Spending by fiscal year

32.3KFY2017
11.9KFY2018
120.7FY2019
55.5KFY2020
-126.9FY2021
280.9FY2022
724.3FY2024
111.6KFY2026

Top industries (NAICS)

Animal slaughtering and processing · 3116$115.2K100%
Offices of real estate agents and brokers · 5312$5,8815.3%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$5760.5%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Batesville, Arkansas, so they do not add up across cities.

Batesville, Arkansas's figures are part of those of Independence County, AR ($12M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.9% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Batesville is mostly in Independence County.

See federal money in Independence County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Batesville, Arkansas is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Eric A. "Rick" CrawfordR-AR-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 2.2%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Independence County20100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Batesville, AR14

Other cities and towns in Independence County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/0504030

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends