City · Conway County, Arkansas

Oppelo, Arkansas

Oppelo is a city in Conway County, Arkansas. It has 1,118 residents. Oppelo, Arkansas has a quality-of-life score of 17 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,039 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Arkansas it ranks #82 of 218 cities and towns. It ranks best on students per teacher (low), time spent in the emergency room (low) and home price to income ratio (low). It ranks worst on mental health care shortage (high), food environment index (low) and gyms and fitness centers (low).

17Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,039 of 15,651 cities and towns
Arkansas: #82 of 218 in AR
Population: 1,118 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 453.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 0552430

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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#10,371/15,637
Economy20#12,452/15,631
Housing95#817/14,977
Health10#14,004/15,609
Healthcare22#12,195/15,650
Environment17#12,791/15,453
Education27#11,439/15,649
Infrastructure55#6,975/15,650
Community9#14,259/15,651
Leisure & amenities4#15,030/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Oppelo, Arkansas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Conway 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 · low8.7×
100/100Arkansas 12.5×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsConway County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low98 min
97/100Arkansas 165 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesConway County value
Home price to income ratio · low1.8×
95/100Arkansas 3.1×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Arkansas 7.0 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataConway County value
Job growth · high2.8%
93/100Arkansas -0.1%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataConway County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.43%
92/100Arkansas 0.56%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090

Weaknesses

Mental health care shortage · high19.0
4/100Arkansas 12.8United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationConway County value
Food environment index · low6.0
4/100Arkansas 4.6United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteConway County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Arkansas 1.1 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsConway County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low1.4 /10k
5/100Arkansas 3.9 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsConway County value
Child poverty rate · high56.8%
7/100Arkansas 19.6%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Access to exercise opportunities · low45.7%
8/100Arkansas 63.4%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteConway County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
669 (2015-2019) → 1,118 (2020-2024)
+67%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateWorsening
9.1% (2015-2019) → 56.8% (2020-2024)
+48 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
73.6% (2015-2019) → 93.3% (2020-2024)
+20 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateWorsening
6.3% (2015-2019) → 22.5% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
14.4% (2015-2019) → 27.9% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
37.8% (2015-2019) → 44.2% (2020-2024)
+6.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

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, Oppelo, Arkansas improved on 2 of 8 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 6 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

Broadband+20 points73.6% → 93.3%
Household income+30%$50,536 → $65,521

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 8 measures

Change of every measure of Oppelo, Arkansas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	24.4 min2015-2019	28.4 min2020-2024	+4.0 min	Within the margin of error	14%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.2%2015-2019	14.3%2020-2024	−0.9 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Broadband subscriptions	73.6%2015-2019	93.3%2020-2024	+20 points	Improved	90%
Effective property tax rate	0.50%2015-2019	0.43%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	30%
High school diploma or higher	90.8%2015-2019	93.4%2020-2024	+2.6 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Home price to income ratio	1.8×2015-2019	1.8×2020-2024	−0.0×	Within the margin of error	79%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4062015-2019	0.3872020-2024	−0.018	Within the margin of error	66%
Median household income	$50,5362015-2019	$65,5212020-2024	+30%	Improved	55%

“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 Oppelo, Arkansas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Oppelo, 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, Oppelo, Arkansas itself moved +4 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

1,118 residents (±243)

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

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 B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

1,118 residents (±243)

Oppelo, Arkansas
Arkansas share

White83%930
Black1.0%†11
Hispanic or Latino14%†159

Education

792 residents (±166)

Oppelo, Arkansas
Arkansas share

No high school diploma6.6%†52
High school or GED48%†382
Some college24%†

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

387 households (±81)

Oppelo, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Under $25k19%†75
$25k–50k21%†83
$50k–75k17%†67
$75k–100k6.7%†26
$100k–150k23%†90
$150k–200k11%†43
$200k or more0.8%†3

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 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

387 households (±81)

Oppelo, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Own80%308
Rent20%†79

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

52 households (±30)

Oppelo, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Under $75029%†15
$750–1,00044%†23
$1,000–1,50021%†11

Home values

308 homes (±69)

Oppelo, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Under $150k61%†189
$150k–250k24%†73
$250k–400k4.5%†14

Age of homes

419 homes (±85)

Oppelo, Arkansas
Arkansas share

2010 or later5.5%†23
2000–200911%†46
1980–199932%†133

Size of homes

419 homes (±85)

Oppelo, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom3.1%†13
2 bedrooms17%†72

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

457 workers (±129)

Oppelo, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Drive alone94%429
Carpool3.9%†18
Public transit1.8%†8
Walk0.0%0
Bike0.0%0
Work from home0.4%†2
Other0.0%0

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

455 workers (±128)

Oppelo, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Under 15 min26%†120
15–29 min36%†163
30–44 min11%†49

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 Conway County, the county holding most of Oppelo's residents.

Conway County has 417 employer establishments, 198 for every 10,000 residents (0.80× the US rate of 248; 0.86× Arkansas's), with 4,822 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,540. The Census Bureau also counts 1,566 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 417; 1,566 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 198; US 248 · Arkansas 229
Paid employees: 4,822
Average annual pay: $48,540; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	41	19.4	1.26×More than typical	480	$64,552	138
Ambulatory health care services	36	17.1	0.82×About typical	330	$52,388	91
Religious organizations	24	11.4	2.05×More than typical	109	$19,991	—
Offices of other health practitioners	23	10.9	1.80×More than typical	113	$32,832	48
Restaurants and other eating places	23	10.9	0.59×Fewer than typical	387	$17,160	13
Building equipment contractors	18	8.5	1.42×More than typical	276	$61,185	28
Gasoline stations	16	7.6	2.34×More than typical	130	$25,492	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	14	6.6	1.32×More than typical	62	$41,823	36
Construction of buildings	11	5.2	0.69×Fewer than typical	33	$33,515	58
General merchandise stores	11	5.2	2.95×More than typical	291	$30,010	8
Lessors of real estate	11	5.2	0.42×Fewer than typical	31	$28,871	92
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	11	5.2	1.58×More than typical	55	$44,709	14

Rank places for an industry Open Conway County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 21,087 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 -$11K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Oppelo, Arkansas: -$9.88 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: -$11K; −116% vs FY2025
Per resident: -$9.88; 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

Department of the Air Force$4790.0%

Top recipients

MIDWEST HERITAGE INN OF NORTH LITTLE ROCK, INC.$4790.0%
PROGRESSIVE ELDERCARE SERVICES-MORRILTON, INC.-$11.5K0.0%

Spending by fiscal year

8KFY2017
4.6KFY2018
5.9KFY2019
23.5KFY2020
-4.8KFY2021
114FY2022
67.7KFY2025
-11KFY2026

Top industries (NAICS)

Traveler accommodation · 7211$4790.0%

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

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

See federal money in Conway 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.

Oppelo, 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.

Conway County15100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Conway 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/0552430

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends