Town · White County, Arkansas

Higginson, Arkansas

Higginson is a town in White County, Arkansas, part of the Searcy, AR metro area. It has 1,055 residents. Higginson, Arkansas has a quality-of-life score of 11 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,916 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Arkansas it ranks #130 of 218 cities and towns. It ranks best on home price to income ratio (low), average commute time (low) and income inequality (Gini index) (low). It ranks worst on drought exposure (high), bachelor's degree or higher (low) and frequent mental distress (high).

11Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,916 of 15,651 cities and towns
Arkansas: #130 of 218 in AR
Population: 1,055 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 830.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 0532140

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety10#14,134/15,637
Economy29#11,142/15,631
Housing100#16/14,977
Health10#14,066/15,609
Healthcare16#13,096/15,650
Environment18#12,602/15,453
Education12#13,765/15,649
Infrastructure33#10,454/15,650
Community10#14,125/15,651
Leisure & amenities13#13,684/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Home price to income ratio · low1.7×
96/100Arkansas 3.1×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Average commute time · low13.9 min
92/100Arkansas 22.5 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.293
92/100Arkansas 0.479United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Rent-burdened households · low27.1%
92/100Arkansas 44.8%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070High uncertainty
Effective property tax rate · low0.44%
91/100Arkansas 0.56%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
New homes permitted · high12.3 /1k
91/100Arkansas 4.7 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data

Weaknesses

Drought exposure · high96%
4/100Arkansas 78%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAWhite County value
Bachelor's degree or higher · low7.7%
4/100Arkansas 25.7%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003High uncertainty
Frequent mental distress · high22.1%
5/100Arkansas 20.7%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Mammography screening · low34.0%
6/100Arkansas 43.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWhite County value
Average weekly wage · low$913
7/100Arkansas $1,176United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWhite County value
Voter turnout · low52.9%
7/100Arkansas 52.5%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionWhite County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
686 (2015-2019) → 1,055 (2020-2024)
+54%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
16.7% (2015-2019) → 27.1% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Poverty rateImproving
23.2% (2015-2019) → 13.7% (2020-2024)
−9.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
37.2% (2015-2019) → 28.0% (2020-2024)
−9.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedWorsening
22.6 /1k (2021) → 12.3 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−45%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Median household incomeImproving
$54,135 (2015-2019) → $76,957 (2020-2024)
+42%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Higginson, Arkansas improved on 1 of 9 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.

Improved1

Household income+42%$54,135 → $76,957

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of Higginson, Arkansas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	15.6 min2015-2019	14.0 min2020-2024	−1.6 min	Within the margin of error	67%
Broadband subscriptions	83.9%2015-2019	91.3%2020-2024	+7.4 points	Within the margin of error	46%
Effective property tax rate	0.58%2015-2019	0.44%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	43%
High school diploma or higher	86.6%2015-2019	80.7%2020-2024	−5.9 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Home price to income ratio	1.6×2015-2019	1.7×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	74%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3412015-2019	0.2932020-2024	−0.048	Within the margin of error	83%
Median household income	$54,1352015-2019	$76,9572020-2024	+42%	Improved	77%
Poverty rate	23.2%2015-2019	13.7%2020-2024	−9.5 points	Within the margin of error	92%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%

“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 Higginson, Arkansas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Higginson, 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, Higginson, Arkansas itself moved −1 points in standing on average over the same 7 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

1,055 residents (±399)

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

310 households (±94)

Higginson, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Under $25k11%†33
$25k–50k14%†44
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

310 households (±94)

Higginson, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Own68%†212
Rent32%†98

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

649 workers (±282)

Higginson, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Drive alone91%†591
Carpool7.4%†48
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 Searcy, 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 White County, the county holding most of Higginson's residents.

White County has 1,637 employer establishments, 209 for every 10,000 residents (0.84× the US rate of 248; 0.91× Arkansas's), with 23,543 paid employees at an average annual pay of $41,469. The Census Bureau also counts 6,049 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,637; 6,049 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 209; US 248 · Arkansas 229
Paid employees: 23,543
Average annual pay: $41,469; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	162	20.6	0.99×About typical	1,666	$63,144	289
Restaurants and other eating places	122	15.5	0.85×About typical	2,421	$17,871	25
Specialty trade contractors	111	14.1	0.91×About typical	648	$52,245	618
Religious organizations	64	8.2	1.47×More than typical	514	$21,385	—
Offices of other health practitioners	59	7.5	1.24×About typical	362	$47,688	118
Lessors of real estate	58	7.4	0.60×Fewer than typical	165	$34,752	462
Building equipment contractors	55	7	1.16×About typical	317	$47,126	122
Automotive repair and maintenance	52	6.6	1.32×More than typical	286	$43,626	170
Limited-service restaurants	51	6.5	0.81×About typical	1,381	$15,377	7
Full-service restaurants	48	6.1	0.80×Fewer than typical	809	$23,131	11
Truck transportation	41	5.2	1.03×About typical	707	$72,726	233
Construction of buildings	40	5.1	0.67×Fewer than typical	207	$54,942	271

Rank places for an industry Open White County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 78,473 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: Higginson is mostly in White County.

See federal money in White 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.

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

House

J. French HillR-AR-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 1.2%

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.

White County13100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Searcy, AR9

Other cities and towns in White 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/0532140

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends