City · Carroll County, Arkansas

Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Eureka Springs is a city in Carroll County, Arkansas. It has 2,433 residents. Eureka Springs, Arkansas has a quality-of-life score of 32 out of 100 (low), ranking #10,675 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Arkansas it ranks #42 of 218 cities and towns. It ranks best on restaurants and bars (high), students per teacher (low) and grocery stores (high). It ranks worst on firearm deaths (high), average weekly wage (low) and median household income (low).

32Low

Quality-of-life score: #10,675 of 15,651 cities and towns
Arkansas: #42 of 218 in AR
Population: 2,433 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 360.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 0522240

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.

Safety24#11,875/15,637
Economy23#12,080/15,631
Housing76#3,557/14,977
Health28#11,264/15,609
Healthcare14#13,400/15,650
Environment53#7,254/15,453
Education44#8,805/15,649
Infrastructure43#8,975/15,650
Community21#12,362/15,651
Leisure & amenities84#2,458/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Restaurants and bars · high18.1 /10k
98/100Arkansas 7.7 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCarroll County value
Students per teacher · low10.3×
97/100Arkansas 12.5×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsCarroll County value
Grocery stores · high3.1 /10k
95/100Arkansas 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCarroll County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low114 min
90/100Arkansas 165 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesCarroll County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Arkansas 1United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCarroll County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,998 /100k
85/100Arkansas 3,115 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCarroll County value

Weaknesses

Firearm deaths · high34.7 /100k
1/100Arkansas 18.5 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataCarroll County value
Average weekly wage · low$818
1/100Arkansas $1,176United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCarroll County value
Median household income · low$38,425
4/100Arkansas $62,146United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Homicide rate · high12.1 /100k
5/100Arkansas 7.0 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataCarroll County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high134 mi
6/100Arkansas 60 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauCarroll County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high23.2%
8/100Arkansas 11.3%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,991 (2015-2019) → 2,433 (2020-2024)
+22%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
35.6% (2015-2019) → 12.3% (2020-2024)
−23 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedImproving
1.4 /1k (2021) → 2.9 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+107%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
72.1% (2015-2019) → 90.7% (2020-2024)
+19 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Average commute timeWorsening
15.0 min (2015-2019) → 27.0 min (2020-2024)
+80%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Bachelor's degree or higherWorsening
36.0% (2015-2019) → 24.1% (2020-2024)
−12 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, Eureka Springs, Arkansas improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 10 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

Broadband+19 points72.1% → 90.7%

Declined2

Bachelor's+−12 points36.0% → 24.1%
Price / income+2.2×4.2× → 6.4×

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Eureka Springs, Arkansas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	15.0 min2015-2019	27.0 min2020-2024	+12.0 min	Within the margin of error	1%
Bachelor's degree or higher	36.0%2015-2019	24.1%2020-2024	−12 points	Declined	1%
Broadband subscriptions	72.1%2015-2019	90.7%2020-2024	+19 points	Improved	88%
Effective property tax rate	0.71%2015-2019	0.56%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	48%
High school diploma or higher	89.2%2015-2019	92.3%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Within the margin of error	69%
Home price to income ratio	4.2×2015-2019	6.4×2020-2024	+2.2×	Declined	3%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4672015-2019	0.4992020-2024	+0.032	Within the margin of error	25%
Median household income	$38,2142015-2019	$38,4252020-2024	+0.6%	Within the margin of error	8%
Poverty rate	15.6%2015-2019	12.2%2020-2024	−3.4 points	Within the margin of error	72%
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	29.3%2020-2024	+2.4 points	Within the margin of error	37%
Rent-burdened households	41.0%2015-2019	48.1%2020-2024	+7.1 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	27.4%2015-2019	23.2%2020-2024	−4.1 points	Within the margin of error	83%

“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 Eureka Springs, Arkansas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Eureka Springs, 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, Eureka Springs, Arkansas itself moved −11.3 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

2,433 residents (±444)

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

1,117 households (±166)

Eureka Springs, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Under $25k33%†365
$25k–50k29%†323
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,117 households (±166)

Eureka Springs, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Own63%701
Rent37%416

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

900 workers (±239)

Eureka Springs, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Drive alone67%†599
Carpool0.0%0
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 Carroll County, the county holding most of Eureka Springs's residents.

Carroll County has 722 employer establishments, 251 for every 10,000 residents (1.01× the US rate of 248; 1.09× Arkansas's), with 8,687 paid employees at an average annual pay of $39,819. The Census Bureau also counts 2,785 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 722; 2,785 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 251; US 248 · Arkansas 229
Paid employees: 8,687
Average annual pay: $39,819; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	76	26.4	1.44×More than typical	846	$18,931	18
Traveler accommodation	63	21.9	12.1×More than typical	623	$26,526	60
Full-service restaurants	47	16.3	2.12×More than typical	469	$21,149	9
Specialty trade contractors	46	16	1.03×About typical	284	$55,197	428
Ambulatory health care services	36	12.5	0.60×Fewer than typical	316	$52,494	104
Religious organizations	33	11.5	2.07×More than typical	114	$19,430	—
Lessors of real estate	30	10.4	0.85×About typical	64	$43,672	233
Limited-service restaurants	23	8	1.00×About typical	359	$15,986	5
Construction of buildings	20	6.9	0.92×About typical	39	$36,846	160
Building equipment contractors	19	6.6	1.10×About typical	56	$43,554	76
Banks and credit unions	16	5.6	1.72×More than typical	233	$62,000	—
Other specialty trade contractors	16	5.6	2.21×More than typical	212	$58,014	151

Rank places for an industry Open Carroll County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 28,806 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

See federal money in Carroll 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.

Eureka Springs, 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.

Carroll County28100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Carroll 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/0522240

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends