City · Craighead County, Arkansas

Monette, Arkansas

Monette is a city in Craighead County, Arkansas, part of the Jonesboro, AR metro area. It has 1,251 residents. Monette, Arkansas has a quality-of-life score of 13 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,570 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Arkansas it ranks #106 of 218 cities and towns. It ranks best on rent-burdened households (low), new homes permitted (high) and rent as share of income (low). It ranks worst on voter turnout (low), drought exposure (high) and food environment index (low).

13Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,570 of 15,651 cities and towns
Arkansas: #106 of 218 in AR
Population: 1,251 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 221.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 0546400

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.

Safety12#13,768/15,637
Economy20#12,489/15,631
Housing100#8/14,977
Health19#12,614/15,609
Healthcare41#9,299/15,650
Environment8#14,229/15,453
Education19#12,711/15,649
Infrastructure18#12,791/15,650
Community6#14,637/15,651
Leisure & amenities30#10,946/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Rent-burdened households · low13.7%
99/100Arkansas 44.8%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070High uncertainty
New homes permitted · high20.8 /1k
96/100Arkansas 4.7 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Rent as share of income · low20.2%
95/100Arkansas 27.6%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Primary care physicians · high125 /100k
94/100Arkansas 69 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCraighead County value
Pharmacies · high2.6 /10k
91/100Arkansas 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCraighead County value
Home price to income ratio · low2.1×
90/100Arkansas 3.1×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077

Weaknesses

Voter turnout · low45.6%
1/100Arkansas 52.5%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionCraighead County value
Drought exposure · high92%
6/100Arkansas 78%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAACraighead County value
Food environment index · low6.4
7/100Arkansas 4.6United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCraighead County value
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100Arkansas 2.8United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesCraighead County value
Primary care shortage · high17.0
9/100Arkansas 12.9United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationCraighead County value
Unemployment rate · high9.9%
10/100Arkansas 4.1%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,678 (2015-2019) → 1,251 (2020-2024)
−25%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
71.1% (2015-2019) → 84.0% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
25.5% (2015-2019) → 13.7% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
11.1% (2015-2019) → 21.1% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
High school diploma or higherImproving
78.7% (2015-2019) → 88.5% (2020-2024)
+9.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Child poverty rateImproving
29.2% (2015-2019) → 20.6% (2020-2024)
−8.6 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, Monette, Arkansas improved on 2 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 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.

Improved2

Bachelor's++10 points11.1% → 21.1%
Broadband+13 points71.1% → 84.0%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Monette, Arkansas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	25.3 min2015-2019	24.3 min2020-2024	−1.1 min	Within the margin of error	61%
Bachelor's degree or higher	11.1%2015-2019	21.1%2020-2024	+10 points	Improved	90%
Broadband subscriptions	71.1%2015-2019	84.0%2020-2024	+13 points	Improved	72%
Effective property tax rate	0.60%2015-2019	0.53%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	29%
High school diploma or higher	78.7%2015-2019	88.5%2020-2024	+9.8 points	Within the margin of error	95%
Home price to income ratio	1.9×2015-2019	2.1×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	70%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4442015-2019	0.4072020-2024	−0.037	Within the margin of error	78%
Median household income	$43,6112015-2019	$54,1672020-2024	+24%	Within the margin of error	42%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	18.8%2015-2019	20.2%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	44%
Unemployment rate	9.3%2015-2019	9.9%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.3%2015-2019	12.3%2020-2024	+5 points	Within the margin of error	10%

“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 Monette, Arkansas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Monette, 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, Monette, Arkansas itself moved +7.8 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

1,251 residents (±292)

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

536 households (±110)

Monette, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Under $25k17%†90
$25k–50k30%†159
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

536 households (±110)

Monette, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Own68%365
Rent32%†171

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

545 workers (±166)

Monette, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Drive alone77%419
Carpool19%†103
Public transit0.0%0

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 Jonesboro, 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 Craighead County, the county holding most of Monette's residents.

Craighead County has 2,788 employer establishments, 244 for every 10,000 residents (0.98× the US rate of 248; 1.06× Arkansas's), with 48,791 paid employees at an average annual pay of $51,049. The Census Bureau also counts 10,377 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,788; 10,377 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 244; US 248 · Arkansas 229
Paid employees: 48,791
Average annual pay: $51,049; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	309	27.1	1.30×More than typical	3,794	$86,178	915
Restaurants and other eating places	220	19.3	1.05×About typical	4,692	$19,917	66
Specialty trade contractors	181	15.8	1.02×About typical	1,769	$62,719	757
Lessors of real estate	126	11	0.90×About typical	412	$44,743	1,179
Limited-service restaurants	106	9.3	1.16×About typical	2,266	$18,220	25
Offices of other health practitioners	105	9.2	1.51×More than typical	717	$49,752	235
Building equipment contractors	96	8.4	1.40×More than typical	1,045	$69,129	172
Offices of physicians	88	7.7	1.19×About typical	1,582	$131,609	121
Full-service restaurants	85	7.4	0.97×About typical	2,096	$22,272	27
Truck transportation	81	7.1	1.40×More than typical	1,131	$62,932	291
Religious organizations	74	6.5	1.17×About typical	599	$24,541	—
Legal services	69	6	1.12×About typical	232	$68,422	59

Rank places for an industry Open Craighead County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 114,216 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 Monette, 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

19.5KFY2017
32.7KFY2018
46.9KFY2019
73.6KFY2020
51.1KFY2021
24.7KFY2022

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

Monette, Arkansas's figures are part of those of Craighead County, AR ($8.5M 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: Monette is mostly in Craighead County.

See federal money in Craighead 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.

Monette, 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.

Craighead County24100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Jonesboro, AR16

Other cities and towns in Craighead 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/0546400

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends