Scores by category

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

Safety1#15,499/15,637
Economy0#15,617/15,631
Housing77#3,394/14,977
Health4#14,929/15,609
Healthcare33#10,472/15,650
Environment11#13,729/15,453
Education8#14,427/15,649
Infrastructure18#12,878/15,650
Community6#14,726/15,651
Leisure & amenities9#14,200/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Forrest City, Arkansas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “St. Francis 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

Average commute time · low16.4 min
94/100Arkansas 22.5 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Students per teacher · low11.2×
92/100Arkansas 12.5×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsSt. Francis County value
Primary care shortage · low0.0
90/100Arkansas 12.9United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationSt. Francis County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Arkansas 1United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSt. Francis County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.56%
83/100Arkansas 0.56%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Rent as share of income · low37.0%
77/100Arkansas 27.6%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071

Weaknesses

Voter turnout · low34.1%
0/100Arkansas 52.5%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionSt. Francis County value
Child poverty rate · high54.5%
0/100Arkansas 19.6%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Homicide rate · high29.7 /100k
0/100Arkansas 7.0 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataSt. Francis County value
Adult obesity · high51.6%
0/100Arkansas 40.6%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Poverty rate · high37.7%
1/100Arkansas 15.3%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Physical inactivity · high46.0%
1/100Arkansas 34.4%United States 26.5%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.

PopulationFalling
14,285 (2015-2019) → 12,646 (2020-2024)
−11%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
61.4% (2015-2019) → 84.4% (2020-2024)
+23 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateWorsening
38.9% (2015-2019) → 54.5% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateWorsening
29.3% (2015-2019) → 37.7% (2020-2024)
+8.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Unemployment rateWorsening
5.3% (2015-2019) → 13.5% (2020-2024)
+8.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
31.9% (2015-2019) → 37.0% (2020-2024)
+5.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

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, Forrest City, Arkansas improved on 1 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 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

Broadband+23 points61.4% → 84.4%

Declined2

Unemployment+8.1 points5.3% → 13.5%
Child poverty+16 points38.9% → 54.5%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Forrest City, Arkansas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	17.0 min2015-2019	16.4 min2020-2024	−0.6 min	Within the margin of error	55%
Bachelor's degree or higher	9.4%2015-2019	13.8%2020-2024	+4.4 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Broadband subscriptions	61.4%2015-2019	84.4%2020-2024	+23 points	Improved	94%
Child poverty rate	38.9%2015-2019	54.5%2020-2024	+16 points	Declined	7%
Effective property tax rate	0.53%2015-2019	0.56%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	12%
High school diploma or higher	80.3%2015-2019	84.9%2020-2024	+4.5 points	Within the margin of error	79%
Home price to income ratio	2.1×2015-2019	2.6×2020-2024	+0.5×	Within the margin of error	50%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4892015-2019	0.5042020-2024	+0.015	Within the margin of error	38%
Median household income	$30,8172015-2019	$35,6892020-2024	+16%	Within the margin of error	25%
Poverty rate	29.3%2015-2019	37.7%2020-2024	+8.3 points	Within the margin of error	6%
Rent as share of income	31.9%2015-2019	37.0%2020-2024	+5.1 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Rent-burdened households	54.9%2015-2019	59.9%2020-2024	+5 points	Within the margin of error	38%
Unemployment rate	5.3%2015-2019	13.5%2020-2024	+8.1 points	Declined	1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	8.9%2015-2019	12.5%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Within the margin of error	16%

“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 Forrest City, Arkansas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Forrest City, 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, Forrest City, Arkansas itself moved −1.1 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

12,646 residents (±19)

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: 30–39 men (−2.4 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 B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

12,646 residents (±19)

Forrest City, Arkansas
Arkansas share

White21%2,633
Black73%9,249
Hispanic or Latino4.8%609

Education

8,831 residents (±231)

Forrest City, Arkansas
Arkansas share

No high school diploma15%1,335
High school or GED44%3,904
Some college21%1,856

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

3,831 households (±304)

Forrest City, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Under $25k42%1,602
$25k–50k21%807
$50k–75k19%†714
$75k–100k5.2%†200
$100k–150k9.6%†369
$150k–200k3.0%†114
$200k or more0.7%†25

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $100k–150k (+7.0 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 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

3,831 households (±304)

Forrest City, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Own39%1,503
Rent61%2,328

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

2,157 households (±304)

Forrest City, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Under $75042%904
$750–1,00036%†785
$1,000–1,50020%†435

Home values

1,503 homes (±206)

Forrest City, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Under $150k72%1,081
$150k–250k19%†290
$250k–400k8.5%†128

Age of homes

4,608 homes (±251)

Forrest City, Arkansas
Arkansas share

2010 or later1.4%†63
2000–20096.1%†279
1980–199938%1,762

Size of homes

4,608 homes (±251)

Forrest City, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Studio0.7%†32
1 bedroom6.1%†280
2 bedrooms31%1,419

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

3,342 workers (±458)

Forrest City, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Drive alone79%2,647
Carpool13%†439
Public transit0.0%0
Walk2.6%†86
Bike0.0%0
Work from home2.7%†89
Other2.4%†81

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

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

Time to get to work

3,253 workers (±448)

Forrest City, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Under 15 min66%2,149
15–29 min18%†590
30–44 min6.5%†211

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 Forrest City, 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 St. Francis County, the county holding most of Forrest City's residents.

St. Francis County has 404 employer establishments, 183 for every 10,000 residents (0.74× the US rate of 248; 0.80× Arkansas's), with 4,813 paid employees at an average annual pay of $38,492. The Census Bureau also counts 1,939 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 404; 1,939 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 183; US 248 · Arkansas 229
Paid employees: 4,813
Average annual pay: $38,492; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	47	21.3	1.02×About typical	574	$46,784	277
Restaurants and other eating places	30	13.6	0.74×Fewer than typical	379	$17,227	5
Religious organizations	20	9.1	1.63×More than typical	55	$18,545	—
Gasoline stations	15	6.8	2.10×More than typical	158	$25,880	—
Legal services	15	6.8	1.26×More than typical	31	$31,484	10
Limited-service restaurants	15	6.8	0.85×About typical	255	$16,384	—
Banks and credit unions	14	6.3	1.96×More than typical	99	$46,687	—
Lessors of real estate	14	6.3	0.51×Fewer than typical	56	$14,054	75
Specialty trade contractors	14	6.3	0.41×Fewer than typical	77	$55,792	109
Full-service restaurants	13	5.9	0.77×Fewer than typical	124	$18,492	3
Building equipment contractors	11	5	0.83×About typical	59	$60,390	37
Offices of physicians	11	5	0.77×Fewer than typical	85	$74,129	13

Rank places for an industry Open St. Francis County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 22,080 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 $401.4K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Forrest City, Arkansas: $31.74 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $401.4K; +2.1% vs FY2025
Per resident: $31.74; US $1,994
Sole-source: 17%; US 30%
Single offer: 43%; 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

Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$390.3K97%
Department of the Army$5,9241.5%
Federal Prison Industries / Unicor$4,1341.0%
Rural Housing Service$1,0340.3%

Top recipients

FEDERAL PRISON INDUSTRIES, INC$94.6K24%
SPECTRUM SERVICES GROUP INC$48.8K12%
CONSILIUM STAFFING, LLC$38.6K9.6%
NITELINES USA INC$38.1K9.5%
AMBULANCE SERVICES OF FORREST CITY LLC$28.1K7.0%

Spending by fiscal year

703.1KFY2017
1.6MFY2018
2MFY2019
3.1MFY2020
2.2MFY2021
662KFY2022
447.3KFY2023
339.5K

Top industries (NAICS)

Employment services · 5613$125.6K31%
Other food manufacturing · 3119$66.6K17%
Fabric mills · 3132$43K11%
General medical and surgical hospitals · 6221$28.3K7.0%
Apparel, piece goods, and notions merchant wholesalers · 4243$25.8K6.4%
Bakeries and tortilla manufacturing · 3118$23.4K

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 Forrest City, Arkansas, so they do not add up across cities.

Forrest City, Arkansas's figures are part of those of St. Francis County, AR ($3.4M in FY2026), never added to them: 12% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Forrest City is mostly in St. Francis County.

See federal money in St. Francis 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.

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

House

Eric A. "Rick" CrawfordR-AR-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 2.2%

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.

St. Francis County6100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Forrest City, AR0

Other cities and towns in St. Francis 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/0524430

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends