Scores by category

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

Safety12#13,764/15,637
Economy12#13,827/15,631
Housing100#35/14,977
Health8#14,310/15,609
Healthcare5#14,882/15,650
Environment43#8,883/15,453
Education31#10,781/15,649
Infrastructure20#12,547/15,650
Community16#13,185/15,651
Leisure & amenities39#9,471/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Highland, Arkansas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Sharp 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 · low10.3×
97/100Arkansas 12.5×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsSharp County value
Rent as share of income · low22.4%
97/100Arkansas 27.6%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Pharmacies · high2.8 /10k
94/100Arkansas 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSharp County value
Public libraries · high2.2 /10k
93/100Arkansas 0.7 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesSharp County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.44%
91/100Arkansas 0.56%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Rent-burdened households · low18.9%
91/100Arkansas 44.8%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070High uncertainty

Weaknesses

Drought exposure · high100%
1/100Arkansas 78%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAASharp County value
Average weekly wage · low$796
1/100Arkansas $1,176United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSharp County value
Distance to an emergency room · high22.8 mi
2/100Arkansas 7.3 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesSharp County value
Food environment index · low5.3
2/100Arkansas 4.6United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSharp County value
Dental care shortage · high18.0
6/100Arkansas 13.7United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationSharp County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low42.9%
7/100Arkansas 63.4%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSharp County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,092 (2015-2019) → 1,354 (2020-2024)
+24%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
59.2% (2015-2019) → 18.9% (2020-2024)
−40 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
58.4% (2015-2019) → 84.7% (2020-2024)
+26 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
43.5% (2015-2019) → 22.4% (2020-2024)
−21 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Child poverty rateWorsening
19.8% (2015-2019) → 29.2% (2020-2024)
+9.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateWorsening
14.5% (2015-2019) → 21.3% (2020-2024)
+6.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

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, Highland, Arkansas improved on 0 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 12 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Highland, Arkansas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	19.8 min2015-2019	22.6 min2020-2024	+2.7 min	Within the margin of error	22%
Bachelor's degree or higher	10.8%2015-2019	11.1%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	29%
Broadband subscriptions	58.4%2015-2019	84.7%2020-2024	+26 points	Within the margin of error	96%
Effective property tax rate	0.34%2015-2019	0.44%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	6%
High school diploma or higher	89.9%2015-2019	90.7%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	43%
Home price to income ratio	2.2×2015-2019	2.1×2020-2024	−0.1×	Within the margin of error	84%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4162015-2019	0.3732020-2024	−0.044	Within the margin of error	81%
Median household income	$41,9532015-2019	$49,0632020-2024	+17%	Within the margin of error	27%
Poverty rate	14.5%2015-2019	21.3%2020-2024	+6.8 points	Within the margin of error	8%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	43.5%2015-2019	22.4%2020-2024	−21 points	Within the margin of error	99%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	5.5%2015-2019	10.4%2020-2024	+4.9 points	Within the margin of error	11%

“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 Highland, Arkansas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Highland, 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, Highland, Arkansas itself moved +11.8 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

1,354 residents (±403)

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: 50–59 men (−3.5 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

1,354 residents (±403)

Highland, Arkansas
Arkansas share

White80%1,081
Black0.0%0
Hispanic or Latino1.3%†18

Education

883 residents (±207)

Highland, Arkansas
Arkansas share

No high school diploma9.3%†82
High school or GED42%†369
Some college26%†

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

404 households (±94)

Highland, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Under $25k15%†60
$25k–50k36%†145
$50k–75k14%†56
$75k–100k13%†53
$100k–150k20%†80
$150k–200k1.5%†6
$200k or more1.0%†4

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $100k–150k (+13.4 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 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

404 households (±94)

Highland, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Own90%363
Rent10%†41

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 B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

37 households (±22)

Highland, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Under $75049%†18
$750–1,00041%†15
$1,000–1,50011%†4

Home values

363 homes (±95)

Highland, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Under $150k70%†255
$150k–250k13%†46
$250k–400k10%†38

Age of homes

501 homes (±102)

Highland, Arkansas
Arkansas share

2010 or later8.4%†42
2000–200914%†70
1980–199920%†99

Size of homes

501 homes (±102)

Highland, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom4.2%†21
2 bedrooms26%†130

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

520 workers (±184)

Highland, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Drive alone75%†392
Carpool15%†78
Public transit0.0%0
Walk2.7%†14
Bike0.0%0
Work from home6.9%†36
Other0.0%0

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Carpool (+9.1 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 B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

484 workers (±182)

Highland, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Under 15 min69%†336
15–29 min6.2%†30
30–44 min7.2%†35

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Sharp County, the county holding most of Highland's residents.

Sharp County has 342 employer establishments, 190 for every 10,000 residents (0.77× the US rate of 248; 0.83× Arkansas's), with 2,833 paid employees at an average annual pay of $32,064. The Census Bureau also counts 1,335 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 342; 1,335 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 190; US 248 · Arkansas 229
Paid employees: 2,833
Average annual pay: $32,064; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	32	17.8	0.85×About typical	181	$58,856	84
Restaurants and other eating places	27	15	0.82×About typical	324	$19,667	4
Religious organizations	20	11.1	2.01×More than typical	73	$16,027	—
Specialty trade contractors	17	9.5	0.61×Fewer than typical	66	$42,227	169
Full-service restaurants	14	7.8	1.01×About typical	136	$21,015	—
General merchandise stores	13	7.2	4.09×More than typical	310	$30,239	15
Automotive repair and maintenance	12	6.7	1.33×More than typical	42	$30,524	31
Gasoline stations	12	6.7	2.06×More than typical	116	$18,043	—
Limited-service restaurants	11	6.1	0.76×Fewer than typical	174	$18,575	—
Offices of other health practitioners	11	6.1	1.01×About typical	58	$47,638	36
Banks and credit unions	10	5.6	1.72×More than typical	127	$64,480	—
Lessors of real estate	10	5.6	0.45×Fewer than typical	25	$30,520	106

Rank places for an industry Open Sharp County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 17,972 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 $1,090 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Highland, Arkansas: $0.81 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1,090
Per resident: $0.81; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

Defense Logistics Agency$1,090100%

Top recipients

AZ INDUSTRIES INC$1,090100%

Spending by fiscal year

2.8KFY2017
461.8FY2021
875.6FY2024
-31.7FY2025
1.1KFY2026

What was bought

Other equipment & supplies$1,090100%

Top industries (NAICS)

Hardware manufacturing · 3325$1,090100%

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

Highland, Arkansas's figures are part of those of Sharp County, AR ($111.7K in FY2026), never added to them: 1.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Sharp 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.

Highland, 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.

Sharp County14100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Sharp 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/0532257