City · Sevier County, Arkansas

De Queen, Arkansas

De Queen is a city in Sevier County, Arkansas. It has 6,058 residents. De Queen, Arkansas has a quality-of-life score of 9 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,245 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Arkansas it ranks #151 of 218 cities and towns. It ranks best on drug overdose deaths (low), public libraries (high) and effective property tax rate (low). It ranks worst on mental health care shortage (high), physical inactivity (high) and poor or fair health (high).

9Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,245 of 15,651 cities and towns
Arkansas: #151 of 218 in AR
Population: 6,058 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 999.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 0518490

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.

Safety21#12,384/15,637
Economy11#13,847/15,631
Housing97#514/14,977
Health10#14,105/15,609
Healthcare4#15,033/15,650
Environment8#14,168/15,453
Education40#9,398/15,649
Infrastructure6#14,739/15,650
Community7#14,621/15,651
Leisure & amenities37#9,900/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where De Queen, Arkansas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Sevier 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 · low0.0 /100k
99/100Arkansas 10.6 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataSevier County value
Public libraries · high3.2 /10k
96/100Arkansas 0.7 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesSevier County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.44%
91/100Arkansas 0.56%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Students per teacher · low11.5×
90/100Arkansas 12.5×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsSevier County value
Home price to income ratio · low2.1×
90/100Arkansas 3.1×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Grocery stores · high2.5 /10k
89/100Arkansas 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSevier County value

Weaknesses

Mental health care shortage · high21.0
0/100Arkansas 12.8United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationSevier County value
Physical inactivity · high45.7%
1/100Arkansas 34.4%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Poor or fair health · high36.2%
2/100Arkansas 25.5%United States 19.9%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
New business applications · low7.2 /1k
3/100Arkansas 12.7 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauSevier County value
Food environment index · low5.8
3/100Arkansas 4.6United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSevier County value
Voter turnout · low48.7%
3/100Arkansas 52.5%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionSevier County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
6,556 (2015-2019) → 6,058 (2020-2024)
−7.6%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
40.4% (2015-2019) → 24.4% (2020-2024)
−16 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedWorsening
1.0 /1k (2021) → 0.3 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−66%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Poverty rateImproving
28.2% (2015-2019) → 17.1% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
26.1% (2015-2019) → 18.6% (2020-2024)
−7.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$39,086 (2015-2019) → $52,522 (2020-2024)
+34%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, De Queen, Arkansas improved on 1 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 moved within the margin of error and 0 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

Child poverty−16 points40.4% → 24.4%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of De Queen, Arkansas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	22.6 min2015-2019	20.3 min2020-2024	−2.3 min	Within the margin of error	73%
Bachelor's degree or higher	12.0%2015-2019	7.9%2020-2024	−4.1 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Broadband subscriptions	75.8%2015-2019	76.4%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	10%
Child poverty rate	40.4%2015-2019	24.4%2020-2024	−16 points	Improved	90%
High school diploma or higher	63.0%2015-2019	58.7%2020-2024	−4.3 points	Within the margin of error	7%
Home price to income ratio	2.1×2015-2019	2.1×2020-2024	+0.0×	Within the margin of error	78%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4662015-2019	0.4302020-2024	−0.035	Within the margin of error	77%
Median household income	$39,0862015-2019	$52,5222020-2024	+34%	Within the margin of error	64%
Poverty rate	28.2%2015-2019	17.1%2020-2024	−11 points	Within the margin of error	94%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent-burdened households	39.3%2015-2019	43.3%2020-2024	+4 points	Within the margin of error	41%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	22.2%2015-2019	20.8%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Within the margin of error	64%

“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 De Queen, Arkansas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of De Queen, 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, De Queen, Arkansas itself moved +0.1 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

6,058 residents (±34)

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

2,161 households (±198)

De Queen, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Under $25k31%†661
$25k–50k18%†397
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,161 households (±198)

De Queen, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Own47%1,014
Rent53%1,147

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−15.5 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

2,393 workers (±275)

De Queen, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Drive alone71%1,694
Carpool26%†628
Public transit0.0%0

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 Sevier County, the county holding most of De Queen's residents.

Sevier County has 263 employer establishments, 168 for every 10,000 residents (0.67× the US rate of 248; 0.73× Arkansas's), with 4,143 paid employees at an average annual pay of $47,526. The Census Bureau also counts 1,072 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 263; 1,072 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 168; US 248 · Arkansas 229
Paid employees: 4,143
Average annual pay: $47,526; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	25	15.9	0.76×Fewer than typical	239	$50,644	37
Restaurants and other eating places	20	12.7	0.69×Fewer than typical	305	$14,367	18
Religious organizations	14	8.9	1.61×More than typical	52	$20,827	—
Specialty trade contractors	14	8.9	0.58×Fewer than typical	77	$51,052	138
Limited-service restaurants	9	5.7	0.71×Too few to compare	200	$14,630	10
Offices of other health practitioners	9	5.7	0.94×Too few to compare	44	$42,091	13
Auto parts, accessories and tire stores	8	5.1	2.92×Too few to compare	55	$30,945	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	8	5.1	1.01×Too few to compare	24	$36,667	45
Banks and credit unions	8	5.1	1.58×Too few to compare	102	$54,373	—
Truck transportation	8	5.1	1.01×Too few to compare	42	$45,405	41
Commercial and industrial machinery repair	7	4.5	6.55×Too few to compare	12	$41,417	6
Construction of buildings	7	4.5	0.59×Too few to compare	386	$60,850	67

Rank places for an industry Open Sevier County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 15,700 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 $3,750 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in De Queen, Arkansas: $0.62 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $3,750; −72% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.62; 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

Department of the Army$4,404100%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

15.3KFY2017
18.4KFY2018
19.5KFY2019
18.3KFY2020
12.4KFY2021
14.9KFY2022
17.9KFY2023
27.4KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617$2,40964%
RV parks and recreational camps · 7212$1,54041%
Facilities support services · 5612$45612%

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 De Queen, Arkansas, so they do not add up across cities.

De Queen, Arkansas's figures are part of those of Sevier County, AR ($233.1K in FY2026), never added to them: 1.6% of that total.

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

See federal money in Sevier 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.

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

House

Bruce WestermanR-AR-4 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 0.4%

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.

Sevier County10100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Sevier 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/0518490

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends