City · Pike County, Arkansas

Glenwood, Arkansas

Glenwood is a city in Pike County, Arkansas. It has 1,841 residents. Glenwood, Arkansas has a quality-of-life score of 5 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,865 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Arkansas it ranks #191 of 218 cities and towns. It ranks best on students per teacher (low), pharmacies (high) and grocery stores (high). It ranks worst on average weekly wage (low), rent as share of income (high) and poverty rate (high).

5Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,865 of 15,651 cities and towns
Arkansas: #191 of 218 in AR
Population: 1,841 (2020-2024)
Land area: 9 mi²
Density: 206.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 0527310

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 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.

Safety34#10,369/15,637
Economy7#14,561/15,631
Housing38#9,275/14,977
Health9#14,141/15,609
Healthcare6#14,764/15,650
Environment8#14,166/15,453
Education27#11,434/15,649
Infrastructure12#13,840/15,650
Community11#14,004/15,651
Leisure & amenities54#7,198/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Students per teacher · low9.3×
99/100Arkansas 12.5×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsPike County value
Pharmacies · high4.0 /10k
99/100Arkansas 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPike County value
Grocery stores · high4.0 /10k
98/100Arkansas 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPike County value
Public libraries · high3.0 /10k
96/100Arkansas 0.7 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesPike County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.39%
94/100Arkansas 0.56%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Unemployment rate · low1.0%
92/100Arkansas 4.1%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty

Weaknesses

Average weekly wage · low$822
1/100Arkansas $1,176United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPike County value
Rent as share of income · high51.0%
2/100Arkansas 27.6%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071At least this value: the publisher's top bracket is open-ended
Poverty rate · high38.8%
3/100Arkansas 15.3%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Distance to an emergency room · high20.1 mi
3/100Arkansas 7.3 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesPike County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high29.9%
3/100Arkansas 11.3%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Median household income · low$33,500
3/100Arkansas $62,146United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,995 (2015-2019) → 1,841 (2020-2024)
−7.7%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
42.1% (2015-2019) → 79.5% (2020-2024)
+37 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
28.4% (2015-2019) → 51.0% (2020-2024)
+23 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Poverty rateWorsening
19.0% (2015-2019) → 38.8% (2020-2024)
+20 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
64.2% (2015-2019) → 81.3% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateWorsening
27.8% (2015-2019) → 43.3% (2020-2024)
+16 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, Glenwood, Arkansas improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 5. 7 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+17 points64.2% → 81.3%

Declined5

Poverty+20 points19.0% → 38.8%
Uninsured+15 points15.2% → 29.9%
Rent / income+23 points28.4% → 51.0%
Rent burden+37 points42.1% → 79.5%
Inequality+0.0910.427 → 0.519

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Glenwood, Arkansas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	25.0 min2015-2019	18.4 min2020-2024	−6.6 min	Within the margin of error	94%
Bachelor's degree or higher	19.8%2015-2019	15.1%2020-2024	−4.7 points	Within the margin of error	8%
Broadband subscriptions	64.2%2015-2019	81.3%2020-2024	+17 points	Improved	85%
Child poverty rate	27.8%2015-2019	43.3%2020-2024	+16 points	Within the margin of error	7%
Effective property tax rate	0.58%2015-2019	0.39%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	56%
High school diploma or higher	83.1%2015-2019	79.2%2020-2024	−3.9 points	Within the margin of error	8%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4272015-2019	0.5192020-2024	+0.091	Declined	6%
Median household income	$29,7692015-2019	$33,5002020-2024	+13%	Within the margin of error	20%
Poverty rate	19.0%2015-2019	38.8%2020-2024	+20 points	Declined	1%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	28.4%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	+23 points	Declined	2%
Rent-burdened households	42.1%2015-2019	79.5%2020-2024	+37 points	Declined	1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	15.2%2015-2019	29.9%2020-2024	+15 points	Declined	1%

“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 Glenwood, Arkansas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Glenwood, 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, Glenwood, Arkansas itself moved −16.2 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

1,841 residents (±287)

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

770 households (±133)

Glenwood, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Under $25k46%†357
$25k–50k18%†137
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

770 households (±133)

Glenwood, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Own56%435
Rent44%335

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−14.2 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

687 workers (±155)

Glenwood, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Drive alone82%565
Carpool14%†96
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 Pike County, the county holding most of Glenwood's residents.

Pike County has 214 employer establishments, 210 for every 10,000 residents (0.85× the US rate of 248; 0.92× Arkansas's), with 2,032 paid employees at an average annual pay of $37,505. The Census Bureau also counts 883 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 214; 883 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 210; US 248 · Arkansas 229
Paid employees: 2,032
Average annual pay: $37,505; US $68,342

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

Truck transportation	17	16.7	3.30×More than typical	63	$53,905	37
Restaurants and other eating places	14	13.7	0.75×Fewer than typical	169	$19,041	10
Ambulatory health care services	13	12.8	0.61×Fewer than typical	77	$53,675	34
Specialty trade contractors	12	11.8	0.76×Fewer than typical	38	$38,868	116
Religious organizations	9	8.8	1.59×Too few to compare	54	$18,519	—
Full-service restaurants	7	6.9	0.89×Too few to compare	65	$19,415	—
Traveler accommodation	7	6.9	3.81×Too few to compare	62	$18,452	4
Banks and credit unions	6	5.9	1.82×Too few to compare	63	$52,937	—
Building equipment contractors	6	5.9	0.98×Too few to compare	19	$36,105	33
Construction of buildings	6	5.9	0.78×Too few to compare	25	$35,440	52
General merchandise stores	6	5.9	3.33×Too few to compare	44	$22,841	6
Insurance agencies and brokerages	6	5.9	1.34×Too few to compare	20	$37,900	18

Rank places for an industry Open Pike County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 10,187 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Glenwood, Arkansas: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; 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

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

489.2FY2017
777.3FY2018
703.1FY2019
4.3KFY2020
20.2KFY2021
-107.7FY2022
31KFY2023
-31.9FY2024

What was bought

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

Glenwood, Arkansas's figures are part of those of Pike County, AR and Montgomery County, AR ($428.1K 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: Glenwood is mostly in Pike County.

See federal money in Pike 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.

Glenwood, 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.

Pike County16100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Pike 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
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/0527310

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends