Scores by category

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

Safety28#11,181/15,637
Economy31#10,835/15,631
Housing79#3,159/14,977
Health38#9,636/15,609
Healthcare30#11,012/15,650
Environment4#14,759/15,453
Education73#4,157/15,649
Infrastructure72#4,308/15,650
Community14#13,473/15,651
Leisure & amenities28#11,195/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Drug overdose deaths · low7.3 /100k
92/100Arkansas 10.6 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataFaulkner County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.55%
84/100Arkansas 0.56%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Reading scores · high3.23
82/100Arkansas 2.89United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFaulkner County value
Job growth · high1.0%
78/100Arkansas -0.1%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataFaulkner County value
Bachelor's degree or higher · high42.7%
78/100Arkansas 25.7%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Injury deaths · low71 /100k
77/100Arkansas 95 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFaulkner County value

Weaknesses

Grocery stores · low0.8 /10k
6/100Arkansas 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsFaulkner County value
Drought exposure · high86%
8/100Arkansas 78%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAFaulkner County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high9.1 µg/m³
9/100Arkansas 8.6 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyFaulkner County value
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100Arkansas 2.8United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesFaulkner County value
Food environment index · low6.7
10/100Arkansas 4.6United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFaulkner County value
Adult obesity · high42.3%
12/100Arkansas 40.6%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Trends

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

New homes permittedWorsening
13.0 /1k (2021) → 4.4 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−66%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
83.3% (2015-2019) → 93.6% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$47,221 (2015-2019) → $63,004 (2020-2024)
+33%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
52.3% (2015-2019) → 46.9% (2020-2024)
−5.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
17.9% (2015-2019) → 14.8% (2020-2024)
−3.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
39.7% (2015-2019) → 42.7% (2020-2024)
+2.9 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, Conway, Arkansas improved on 3 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 9 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.

Improved3

Rent / income−2.7 points31.5% → 28.8%
Household income+33%$47,221 → $63,004
Broadband+10 points83.3% → 93.6%

Declined1

Commute+2.4 min20.4 min → 22.8 min

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Conway, Arkansas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.4 min2015-2019	22.8 min2020-2024	+2.4 min	Declined	24%
Bachelor's degree or higher	39.7%2015-2019	42.7%2020-2024	+2.9 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Broadband subscriptions	83.3%2015-2019	93.6%2020-2024	+10 points	Improved	61%
Child poverty rate	17.9%2015-2019	14.8%2020-2024	−3.2 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Effective property tax rate	0.69%2015-2019	0.55%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Little change	43%
High school diploma or higher	94.0%2015-2019	93.9%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Home price to income ratio	3.6×2015-2019	4.0×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	57%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5052015-2019	0.4782020-2024	−0.027	Within the margin of error	72%
Median household income	$47,2212015-2019	$63,0042020-2024	+33%	Improved	62%
Poverty rate	19.0%2015-2019	16.9%2020-2024	−2.1 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Rent as share of income	31.5%2015-2019	28.8%2020-2024	−2.7 points	Improved	73%
Rent-burdened households	52.3%2015-2019	46.9%2020-2024	−5.4 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Unemployment rate	3.2%2015-2019	3.6%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	40%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.4%2015-2019	8.9%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	53%

“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 Conway, Arkansas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Conway, 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, Conway, Arkansas itself moved +5.4 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

67,642 residents (±32)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69
50–59
40–49
30–39
20–29
10–19
Under 10

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 40–49 men (+0.9 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

67,642 residents (±32)

Conway, Arkansas
Arkansas share

White67%45,505
Black18%11,880
Hispanic or Latino8.2%5,514

Education

39,562 residents (±644)

Conway, Arkansas
Arkansas share

No high school diploma6.1%2,416
High school or GED23%9,191
Some college20%8,091

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

27,099 households (±557)

Conway, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Under $25k17%4,638
$25k–50k23%6,105
$50k–75k19%5,283
$75k–100k13%3,581
$100k–150k13%3,556
$150k–200k5.8%1,573
$200k or more8.7%2,363

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under $25k (−9.1 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

27,099 households (±557)

Conway, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Own45%12,294
Rent55%14,805

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

14,400 households (±774)

Conway, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Under $75016%2,267
$750–1,00033%4,785
$1,000–1,50035%5,105

Home values

12,294 homes (±619)

Conway, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Under $150k11%1,389
$150k–250k38%4,693
$250k–400k30%3,690

Age of homes

29,267 homes (±437)

Conway, Arkansas
Arkansas share

2010 or later19%5,644
2000–200927%7,960
1980–199935%10,190

Size of homes

29,267 homes (±437)

Conway, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Studio1.9%†567
1 bedroom10%2,948
2 bedrooms30%8,789

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

33,738 workers (±958)

Conway, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Drive alone80%27,118
Carpool6.5%2,198
Public transit0.2%†53
Walk2.0%†670
Bike0.2%†64
Work from home9.9%3,340
Other0.9%†295

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+6.4 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

30,398 workers (±1,071)

Conway, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Under 15 min43%13,107
15–29 min23%7,142
30–44 min17%5,086

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, 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 Faulkner County, the county holding most of Conway's residents.

Faulkner County has 2,990 employer establishments, 230 for every 10,000 residents (0.93× the US rate of 248; 1.00× Arkansas's), with 37,718 paid employees at an average annual pay of $45,802. The Census Bureau also counts 11,019 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,990; 11,019 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 230; US 248 · Arkansas 229
Paid employees: 37,718
Average annual pay: $45,802; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	317	24.4	1.17×About typical	2,526	$64,833	679
Specialty trade contractors	259	19.9	1.29×More than typical	2,572	$67,385	1,030
Restaurants and other eating places	218	16.8	0.91×About typical	4,674	$19,926	53
Offices of other health practitioners	137	10.5	1.73×More than typical	677	$44,945	317
Lessors of real estate	130	10	0.81×About typical	352	$36,170	1,007
Construction of buildings	105	8.1	1.07×About typical	558	$55,487	424
Limited-service restaurants	105	8.1	1.01×About typical	2,460	$18,941	23
Religious organizations	104	8	1.44×More than typical	1,265	$27,435	—
Building equipment contractors	92	7.1	1.18×About typical	866	$51,017	209
Insurance agencies and brokerages	92	7.1	1.61×More than typical	340	$76,094	233
Offices of physicians	79	6.1	0.94×About typical	853	$96,035	112
Automotive repair and maintenance	71	5.5	1.08×About typical	473	$41,562	151

Rank places for an industry Open Faulkner County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 130,104 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 $37.3K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Conway, Arkansas: $0.55 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $37.3K; −91% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.55; US $1,994
Sole-source: 5.8%; US 30%
Single offer: 7.6%; 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

Department of the Army$29.8K80%
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Acquisition and Property Management Division$2,8367.6%
Department of the Air Force$2,5256.8%
Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education$2,1595.8%

Top recipients

PATRIOT STRATEGIES, LLC$29.8K80%
OFE INVESTIGATIONS AND CONSULTING, LLC$2,8367.6%
THONE INC$2,5256.8%
EMOBILECAMPUS, LLC$2,1595.8%
EA ENGINEERING, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY, INC., PBC$00.0%

Spending by fiscal year

1.4MFY2017
1.8MFY2018
1.3MFY2019
2.3MFY2020
602.6KFY2021
1.3MFY2022
470.5KFY2023
636.9K

Top industries (NAICS)

Nonresidential building construction · 2362$29.8K80%
Investigation and security services · 5616$2,8367.6%
Remediation and other waste management services · 5629$2,5256.8%
Data processing, hosting, and related services · 5182$2,1595.8%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Conway, Arkansas

WTCHP COMPREHENSIVE RECOVERY OF BENEFITS$220.4K
COTIVITI GOV SERVICES, LLC· Faulkner County, AR· Professional services· Jul 28, 2020 – Jun 9, 2026· 75D30120C07031
FIELD INVESTIGATIVE SERVICES$8,069
OFE INVESTIGATIONS AND CONSULTING, LLC· Faulkner County, AR· Professional services· Oct 29, 2024 – Aug 20, 2026· 15A00025FAQ000001

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

Conway, Arkansas's figures are part of those of Faulkner County, AR ($17M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.2% of that total.

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

See federal money in Faulkner 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.

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

House

J. French HillR-AR-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 1.2%

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.

Faulkner County44100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR43

Other cities and towns in Faulkner 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/0515190

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends