City · Washington County, Arkansas

Fayetteville, Arkansas

Fayetteville is a city in Washington County, Arkansas, part of the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR metro area. It has 99,319 residents. Fayetteville, Arkansas has a quality-of-life score of 61 out of 100 (high), ranking #6,087 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Arkansas it ranks #20 of 218 cities and towns. It ranks best on new homes permitted (high), drug overdose deaths (low) and average commute time (low). It ranks worst on income inequality (Gini index) (high), distance to an Amtrak station (high) and voter turnout (low).

61High

Quality-of-life score: #6,087 of 15,651 cities and towns
Arkansas: #20 of 218 in AR
Population: 99,319 (2020-2024)
Land area: 55 mi²
Density: 1,813.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 0523290

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 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.

Safety44#8,728/15,637
Economy23#12,046/15,631
Housing66#5,027/14,977
Health57#6,714/15,609
Healthcare62#5,974/15,650
Environment70#4,623/15,453
Education69#4,892/15,649
Infrastructure79#3,253/15,650
Community32#10,592/15,651
Leisure & amenities64#5,559/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

New homes permitted · high23.0 /1k
97/100Arkansas 4.7 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Drug overdose deaths · low4.2 /100k
96/100Arkansas 10.6 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataWashington County value
Average commute time · low18.5 min
92/100Arkansas 22.5 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Injury deaths · low57 /100k
92/100Arkansas 95 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWashington County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Arkansas 1United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWashington County value
Bachelor's degree or higher · high49.0%
85/100Arkansas 25.7%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003

Weaknesses

Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.499
5/100Arkansas 0.479United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Distance to an Amtrak station · high141 mi
5/100Arkansas 60 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauWashington County value
Voter turnout · low55.5%
13/100Arkansas 52.5%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionWashington County value
Poverty rate · high20.6%
13/100Arkansas 15.3%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Home price to income ratio · high5.6×
14/100Arkansas 3.1×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Violent crime rate · high404 /100k
17/100Arkansas 532 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationWashington County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
85,166 (2015-2019) → 99,319 (2020-2024)
+17%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
14.5 /1k (2021) → 23.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+58%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Median household incomeImproving
$43,690 (2015-2019) → $62,695 (2020-2024)
+43%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
84.2% (2015-2019) → 91.9% (2020-2024)
+7.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
4.8× (2015-2019) → 5.6× (2020-2024)
+17%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Child poverty rateWorsening
17.6% (2015-2019) → 20.8% (2020-2024)
+3.2 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, Fayetteville, Arkansas improved on 3 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 10 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

Household income+43%$43,690 → $62,695
Inequality−0.0280.527 → 0.499
Broadband+7.8 points84.2% → 91.9%

Declined1

Price / income+0.8×4.8× → 5.6×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Fayetteville, Arkansas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	19.0 min2015-2019	18.5 min2020-2024	−0.4 min	Within the margin of error	53%
Bachelor's degree or higher	50.2%2015-2019	49.0%2020-2024	−1.2 points	Within the margin of error	20%
Broadband subscriptions	84.2%2015-2019	91.9%2020-2024	+7.8 points	Improved	48%
Child poverty rate	17.6%2015-2019	20.8%2020-2024	+3.2 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Effective property tax rate	0.72%2015-2019	0.61%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Little change	38%
High school diploma or higher	93.5%2015-2019	94.9%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Home price to income ratio	4.8×2015-2019	5.6×2020-2024	+0.8×	Declined	30%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5272015-2019	0.4992020-2024	−0.028	Improved	73%
Median household income	$43,6902015-2019	$62,6952020-2024	+43%	Improved	78%
Poverty rate	22.9%2015-2019	20.6%2020-2024	−2.3 points	Within the margin of error	64%
Public transit commuters	1.4%2015-2019	1.1%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Rent as share of income	30.2%2015-2019	29.6%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent-burdened households	50.3%2015-2019	49.2%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Unemployment rate	5.0%2015-2019	4.0%2020-2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	69%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.0%2015-2019	9.1%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	45%

“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 Fayetteville, Arkansas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Fayetteville, 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, Fayetteville, Arkansas itself moved +3.2 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

99,319 residents (±53)

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

41,025 households (±958)

Fayetteville, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Under $25k20%8,381
$25k–50k21%8,470
$50k–75k15%5,991

Homes

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

Owners and renters

41,025 households (±958)

Fayetteville, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Own42%17,163
Rent58%23,862

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+5.2 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

52,033 workers (±1,355)

Fayetteville, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Drive alone72%37,388
Carpool8.0%4,151
Public transit1.1%†579

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 Washington County, the county holding most of Fayetteville's residents.

Washington County has 6,281 employer establishments, 240 for every 10,000 residents (0.97× the US rate of 248; 1.05× Arkansas's), with 101,087 paid employees at an average annual pay of $51,935. The Census Bureau also counts 23,032 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 6,281; 23,032 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 240; US 248 · Arkansas 229
Paid employees: 101,087
Average annual pay: $51,935; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	617	23.6	1.13×About typical	6,212	$78,015	1,103
Restaurants and other eating places	529	20.2	1.10×About typical	11,418	$20,819	124
Specialty trade contractors	409	15.6	1.01×About typical	5,513	$62,294	2,277
Lessors of real estate	396	15.1	1.23×About typical	1,348	$46,560	2,569
Offices of other health practitioners	246	9.4	1.55×More than typical	1,060	$49,416	598
Limited-service restaurants	228	8.7	1.09×About typical	5,369	$18,524	43
Full-service restaurants	218	8.3	1.09×About typical	4,789	$22,790	62
Construction of buildings	200	7.6	1.01×About typical	1,494	$87,627	910
Building equipment contractors	180	6.9	1.14×About typical	3,214	$67,313	368
Legal services	176	6.7	1.25×More than typical	728	$63,876	207
Real estate agents and brokers	176	6.7	1.38×More than typical	414	$52,995	699
Management, scientific and technical consulting	162	6.2	0.92×About typical	526	$66,736	771

Rank places for an industry Open Washington County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 261,613 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 $22.2M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Fayetteville, Arkansas: $224 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $22.2M; −8.6% vs FY2025
Per resident: $224; US $1,994
Sole-source: 8.5%; US 30%
Single offer: 48%; 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$16.8M75%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$4.8M22%
Department of the Air Force$323.2K1.5%
Agricultural Research Service$267K1.2%
Department of the Army$113.8K0.5%
Federal Aviation Administration$71.3K0.3%
Federal Highway Administration$50.2K0.2%
Federal Acquisition Service$32.1K0.1%

Top recipients

BLUE CORD DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION, LLC$9.5M43%
SHAVER FOODS LLC$4.8M21%
PATHFINDER CONSULTANTS, LLC$850.3K3.8%
VALOR HEALTHCARE INC$739.8K3.3%
DOUBLE BRONZE STAR MARKETING AND CONSULTING, INC$695.6K3.1%

Spending by fiscal year

11.9MFY2017
12MFY2018
14.2MFY2019
10.7MFY2020
14.2MFY2021
10.7MFY2022
17MFY2023
20.6M

Top industries (NAICS)

Nonresidential building construction · 2362$10M45%
Other food manufacturing · 3119$4.5M20%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$1.1M5.0%
Outpatient care centers · 6214$739.8K3.3%
Other heavy and civil engineering construction · 2379$689.9K3.1%
Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391

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

Fayetteville, Arkansas's figures are part of those of Washington County, AR ($92.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 24% of that total.

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

See federal money in Washington 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.

Fayetteville, 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.

Washington County63100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR80

Other cities and towns in Washington 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/0523290

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends