City · Crawford County, Arkansas

Dyer, Arkansas

Dyer is a city in Crawford County, Arkansas, part of the Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area. It has 1,049 residents. Dyer, Arkansas has a quality-of-life score of 17 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,050 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Arkansas it ranks #84 of 218 cities and towns. It ranks best on time spent in the emergency room (low), rent as share of income (low) and rent-burdened households (low). It ranks worst on arts, entertainment and recreation (low), food environment index (low) and dentists (low).

17Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,050 of 15,651 cities and towns
Arkansas: #84 of 218 in AR
Population: 1,049 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 356.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 0520200

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety23#12,089/15,637
Economy37#9,854/15,631
Housing99#211/14,977
Health17#12,993/15,609
Healthcare15#13,286/15,650
Environment19#12,562/15,453
Education17#12,953/15,649
Infrastructure58#6,599/15,650
Community7#14,591/15,651
Leisure & amenities1#15,440/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Time spent in the emergency room · low71 min
100/100Arkansas 165 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesCrawford County value
Rent as share of income · low19.2%
93/100Arkansas 27.6%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Rent-burdened households · low27.5%
92/100Arkansas 44.8%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070High uncertainty
Drug overdose deaths · low7.5 /100k
92/100Arkansas 10.6 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataCrawford County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Arkansas 1United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCrawford County value
Average commute time · low25.9 min
82/100Arkansas 22.5 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013

Weaknesses

Arts, entertainment and recreation · low1.0 /10k
2/100Arkansas 3.9 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCrawford County value
Food environment index · low6.1
4/100Arkansas 4.6United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCrawford County value
Dentists · low23 /100k
6/100Arkansas 50 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCrawford County value
Restaurants and bars · low4.5 /10k
7/100Arkansas 7.7 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCrawford County value
Voter turnout · low52.8%
7/100Arkansas 52.5%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionCrawford County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high114 mi
8/100Arkansas 60 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauCrawford County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
713 (2015-2019) → 1,049 (2020-2024)
+47%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Median household incomeImproving
$38,750 (2015-2019) → $94,327 (2020-2024)
+143%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
75.1% (2015-2019) → 95.7% (2020-2024)
+21 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioImproving
3.9× (2015-2019) → 2.4× (2020-2024)
−38%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Poverty rateImproving
23.4% (2015-2019) → 16.4% (2020-2024)
−7 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
31.1% (2015-2019) → 24.7% (2020-2024)
−6.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

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, Dyer, Arkansas improved on 2 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 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.

Improved2

Household income+143%$38,750 → $94,327
Broadband+21 points75.1% → 95.7%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Dyer, Arkansas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.4 min2015-2019	25.9 min2020-2024	+4.5 min	Within the margin of error	12%
Bachelor's degree or higher	17.9%2015-2019	20.3%2020-2024	+2.4 points	Within the margin of error	46%
Broadband subscriptions	75.1%2015-2019	95.7%2020-2024	+21 points	Improved	91%
Effective property tax rate	0.71%2015-2019	0.62%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	33%
High school diploma or higher	81.2%2015-2019	76.1%2020-2024	−5 points	Within the margin of error	6%
Home price to income ratio	3.9×2015-2019	2.4×2020-2024	−1.5×	Within the margin of error	99%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4222015-2019	0.3822020-2024	−0.040	Within the margin of error	80%
Median household income	$38,7502015-2019	$94,3272020-2024	+143%	Improved	100%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	23.0%2015-2019	19.2%2020-2024	−3.8 points	Within the margin of error	78%

“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 Dyer, Arkansas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Dyer, 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, Dyer, Arkansas itself moved +18 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

1,049 residents (±282)

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

395 households (±107)

Dyer, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Under $25k14%†54
$25k–50k15%†60
$50k–75k13%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

395 households (±107)

Dyer, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Own85%†335
Rent15%†60

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

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

441 workers (±149)

Dyer, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Drive alone84%†372
Carpool8.8%†39
Public transit

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 Fort Smith, AR-OK

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 Crawford County, the county holding most of Dyer's residents.

Crawford County has 1,130 employer establishments, 183 for every 10,000 residents (0.74× the US rate of 248; 0.80× Arkansas's), with 15,230 paid employees at an average annual pay of $44,651. The Census Bureau also counts 4,619 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,130; 4,619 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 183; US 248 · Arkansas 229
Paid employees: 15,230
Average annual pay: $44,651; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	92	14.9	0.71×Fewer than typical	1,013	$52,045	178
Restaurants and other eating places	85	13.8	0.75×Fewer than typical	1,522	$18,661	34
Specialty trade contractors	84	13.6	0.88×About typical	546	$43,993	538
Limited-service restaurants	46	7.4	0.93×About typical	874	$16,856	12
Building equipment contractors	42	6.8	1.13×About typical	340	$48,165	98
Religious organizations	42	6.8	1.23×About typical	230	$21,104	—
Lessors of real estate	39	6.3	0.51×Fewer than typical	101	$39,861	396
Construction of buildings	37	6	0.79×Fewer than typical	143	$56,517	207
Offices of other health practitioners	37	6	0.99×About typical	427	$57,096	84
Truck transportation	36	5.8	1.15×About typical	313	$77,738	129
Automotive repair and maintenance	30	4.9	0.96×About typical	165	$43,582	109
Full-service restaurants	30	4.9	0.63×Fewer than typical	541	$20,858	11

Rank places for an industry Open Crawford County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 61,765 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 $61.45 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Dyer, Arkansas: $0.06 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $61.45
Per resident: $0.06; US $1,994
Sole-source: 100%; 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 Veterans Affairs$61.45100%

Top recipients

ENABLED ADVISORS, LLC$61.45100%

Spending by fiscal year

619FY2018
21FY2019
1.1KFY2020
-753.5FY2021
0FY2024
61.5FY2026

What was bought

Professional services$61.45100%

Top industries (NAICS)

Other professional, scientific, and technical services · 5419$61.45100%

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

Dyer, Arkansas's figures are part of those of Crawford County, AR ($5.1M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Crawford 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.

Dyer, 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.

Crawford County17100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Fort Smith, AR-OK16

Other cities and towns in Crawford 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/0520200

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends