City · Benton County, Arkansas

Bentonville, Arkansas

Bentonville is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, part of the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR metro area. It has 58,249 residents. Bentonville, Arkansas has a quality-of-life score of 85 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,369 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Arkansas it ranks #1 of 218 cities and towns. It ranks best on rent-burdened households (low), rent as share of income (low) and new homes permitted (high). It ranks worst on distance to an Amtrak station (high), pharmacies (low) and public libraries (low).

85Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,369 of 15,651 cities and towns
Arkansas: #1 of 218 in AR
Population: 58,249 (2020-2024)
Land area: 35 mi²
Density: 1,641.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 0505320

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety68#5,026/15,637
Economy94#878/15,631
Housing98#235/14,977
Health82#2,857/15,609
Healthcare62#5,910/15,650
Environment24#11,735/15,453
Education84#2,432/15,649
Infrastructure98#263/15,650
Community38#9,705/15,651
Leisure & amenities58#6,540/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Bentonville, Arkansas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Benton 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

Rent-burdened households · low27.6%
100/100Arkansas 44.8%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Rent as share of income · low20.9%
99/100Arkansas 27.6%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
New homes permitted · high31.2 /1k
98/100Arkansas 4.7 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Drug overdose deaths · low4.8 /100k
96/100Arkansas 10.6 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataBenton County value
Average weekly wage · high$1,752
95/100Arkansas $1,176United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBenton County value
Child poverty rate · low5.1%
93/100Arkansas 19.6%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001

Weaknesses

Distance to an Amtrak station · high155 mi
4/100Arkansas 60 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauBenton County value
Pharmacies · low1.1 /10k
19/100Arkansas 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBenton County value
Public libraries · low0.3 /10k
21/100Arkansas 0.7 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesBenton County value
Dentists · low45 /100k
27/100Arkansas 50 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBenton County value
High ozone days · high2 days
28/100Arkansas 1 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyBenton County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high8.4 µg/m³
32/100Arkansas 8.6 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyBenton County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
49,467 (2015-2019) → 58,249 (2020-2024)
+18%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
11.5 /1k (2021) → 31.2 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+172%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
72.3% (2015-2019) → 96.8% (2020-2024)
+24 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$80,392 (2015-2019) → $112,792 (2020-2024)
+40%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.9× (2015-2019) → 3.8× (2020-2024)
+31%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
50.2% (2015-2019) → 55.3% (2020-2024)
+5.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

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, Bentonville, Arkansas improved on 5 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 5 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.

Improved5

Broadband+24 points72.3% → 96.8%
Household income+40%$80,392 → $112,792
Bachelor's++5.1 points50.2% → 55.3%
Poverty−2.4 points7.6% → 5.2%
Child poverty−3.5 points8.6% → 5.1%

Declined3

Uninsured+2.5 points6.0% → 8.5%
Price / income+0.9×2.9× → 3.8×
Commute+2.0 min17.0 min → 19.0 min

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Bentonville, Arkansas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	17.0 min2015-2019	19.0 min2020-2024	+2.0 min	Declined	27%
Bachelor's degree or higher	50.2%2015-2019	55.3%2020-2024	+5.1 points	Improved	68%
Broadband subscriptions	72.3%2015-2019	96.8%2020-2024	+24 points	Improved	95%
Child poverty rate	8.6%2015-2019	5.1%2020-2024	−3.5 points	Improved	63%
Effective property tax rate	0.82%2015-2019	0.66%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Little change	50%
High school diploma or higher	93.9%2015-2019	94.9%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	46%
Home price to income ratio	2.9×2015-2019	3.8×2020-2024	+0.9×	Declined	26%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4502015-2019	0.4382020-2024	−0.012	Within the margin of error	62%
Median household income	$80,3922015-2019	$112,7922020-2024	+40%	Improved	74%
Poverty rate	7.6%2015-2019	5.2%2020-2024	−2.4 points	Improved	65%
Rent as share of income	21.5%2015-2019	20.9%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent-burdened households	31.0%2015-2019	27.6%2020-2024	−3.3 points	Within the margin of error	67%
Unemployment rate	2.3%2015-2019	3.1%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.0%2015-2019	8.5%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Declined	22%

“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 Bentonville, Arkansas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Bentonville, 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, Bentonville, Arkansas itself moved +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

58,249 residents (±56)

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

22,589 households (±661)

Bentonville, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Under $25k8.0%1,805
$25k–50k8.6%1,947
$50k–75k14%3,090

Homes

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

Owners and renters

22,589 households (±661)

Bentonville, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Own50%11,396
Rent50%11,193

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−3.8 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

30,811 workers (±892)

Bentonville, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Drive alone69%21,291
Carpool6.7%2,070
Public transit0.1%†31

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 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, 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 Benton County, the county holding most of Bentonville's residents.

Benton County has 7,788 employer establishments, 250 for every 10,000 residents (1.01× the US rate of 248; 1.09× Arkansas's), with 140,001 paid employees at an average annual pay of $78,785. The Census Bureau also counts 28,981 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 7,788; 28,981 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 250; US 248 · Arkansas 229
Paid employees: 140,001
Average annual pay: $78,785; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	595	19.1	0.92×About typical	5,074	$76,700	1,059
Specialty trade contractors	516	16.6	1.07×About typical	5,043	$56,943	2,810
Restaurants and other eating places	485	15.6	0.85×About typical	10,904	$22,313	136
Lessors of real estate	436	14	1.14×About typical	1,243	$54,407	3,037
Management, scientific and technical consulting	331	10.6	1.58×More than typical	3,021	$129,609	1,341
Construction of buildings	269	8.6	1.14×About typical	1,407	$68,780	1,258
Services to buildings and dwellings	251	8.1	1.19×About typical	1,986	$31,874	1,919
Real estate agents and brokers	232	7.4	1.53×More than typical	429	$56,375	1,032
Offices of other health practitioners	227	7.3	1.20×About typical	1,297	$53,699	572
Building equipment contractors	225	7.2	1.20×About typical	2,654	$58,103	441
Limited-service restaurants	219	7	0.88×About typical	5,080	$19,849	45
Full-service restaurants	195	6.3	0.81×About typical	4,729	$25,461	61

Rank places for an industry Open Benton County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 311,656 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 $1.4M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Bentonville, Arkansas: $23.99 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1.4M
Per resident: $23.99; 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

Forest Service$958.7K69%
Defense Logistics Agency$280.1K20%
Department of the Army$94K6.7%
Department of Veterans Affairs$63.1K4.5%
Public Buildings Service$1,7320.1%

Top recipients

VAN ARSDALE AIR SERVICE, L.L.C.$958.7K69%
REGIONAL JET CENTER, INC.$280.1K20%
THE H.O.U.S.E., INC.$63.1K4.5%
BROWN'S LAWN AND TREE SERVICE LLC$43.5K3.1%
BRADER, KERIN$23.3K1.7%

Spending by fiscal year

390KFY2017
435.1KFY2018
374.7KFY2019
5.7MFY2020
1.8MFY2021
806.8KFY2022
579.8KFY2023
466.8K

Top industries (NAICS)

Nonscheduled air transportation · 4812$958.7K69%
Petroleum and coal products manufacturing · 3241$280.1K20%
Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617$68.5K4.9%
Residential intellectual, developmental, mental health, and substance abuse facilities · 6232$63.1K4.5%
Activities related to real estate · 5313$18.7K1.3%
Sound recording industries · 5122$8,461

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 Bentonville, Arkansas, so they do not add up across cities.

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

See federal money in Benton 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.

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

House

Steve WomackR-AR-3 · 100% of residentsWith party 96%Missed 10.7%

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.

Benton County83100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR80

Other cities and towns in Benton 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/0505320

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends