City · Jefferson County, Arkansas

Pine Bluff, Arkansas

Pine Bluff is a city in Jefferson County, Arkansas, part of the Pine Bluff, AR metro area. It has 39,743 residents. Pine Bluff, Arkansas has a quality-of-life score of 5 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,946 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Arkansas it ranks #197 of 218 cities and towns. It ranks best on home price to income ratio (low), average commute time (low) and social associations (high). It ranks worst on math scores (low), voter turnout (low) and homicide rate (high).

5Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,946 of 15,651 cities and towns
Arkansas: #197 of 218 in AR
Population: 39,743 (2020-2024)
Land area: 44 mi²
Density: 899.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 0555310

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.

Safety0#15,578/15,637
Economy1#15,446/15,631
Housing88#1,764/14,977
Health7#14,485/15,609
Healthcare21#12,348/15,650
Environment25#11,580/15,453
Education9#14,203/15,649
Infrastructure20#12,555/15,650
Community11#13,968/15,651
Leisure & amenities4#15,053/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Pine Bluff, Arkansas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Jefferson 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 · low2.1×
90/100Arkansas 3.1×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Average commute time · low19.3 min
90/100Arkansas 22.5 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Social associations · high14.3 /10k
88/100Arkansas 11.7 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJefferson County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Arkansas 1United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJefferson County value
Pharmacies · high2.2 /10k
82/100Arkansas 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsJefferson County value
Rent-burdened households · low46.9%
79/100Arkansas 44.8%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070

Weaknesses

Math scores · low2.13
0/100Arkansas 2.77United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJefferson County value
Voter turnout · low43.2%
1/100Arkansas 52.5%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionJefferson County value
Homicide rate · high26.7 /100k
1/100Arkansas 7.0 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataJefferson County value
Violent crime rate · high1,080 /100k
1/100Arkansas 532 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationJefferson County value
Drought exposure · high100%
1/100Arkansas 78%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAJefferson County value
Reading scores · low2.38
1/100Arkansas 2.89United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJefferson County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
43,091 (2015-2019) → 39,743 (2020-2024)
−7.8%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
58.8% (2015-2019) → 82.0% (2020-2024)
+23 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
40.5% (2015-2019) → 31.7% (2020-2024)
−8.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Median household incomeImproving
$34,723 (2015-2019) → $42,718 (2020-2024)
+23%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
New homes permittedImproving
0.2 /1k (2021) → 0.3 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+16%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Poverty rateImproving
26.8% (2015-2019) → 24.0% (2020-2024)
−2.8 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, Pine Bluff, Arkansas improved on 3 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 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.

Improved3

Broadband+23 points58.8% → 82.0%
Child poverty−8.8 points40.5% → 31.7%
Household income+23%$34,723 → $42,718

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Pine Bluff, Arkansas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	17.6 min2015-2019	19.3 min2020-2024	+1.7 min	Within the margin of error	30%
Bachelor's degree or higher	19.2%2015-2019	20.2%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Broadband subscriptions	58.8%2015-2019	82.0%2020-2024	+23 points	Improved	94%
Child poverty rate	40.5%2015-2019	31.7%2020-2024	−8.8 points	Improved	80%
Effective property tax rate	0.64%2015-2019	0.67%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	12%
High school diploma or higher	85.4%2015-2019	86.5%2020-2024	+1.1 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Home price to income ratio	2.2×2015-2019	2.1×2020-2024	−0.1×	Within the margin of error	83%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4582015-2019	0.4722020-2024	+0.014	Within the margin of error	38%
Median household income	$34,7232015-2019	$42,7182020-2024	+23%	Improved	39%
Poverty rate	26.8%2015-2019	24.0%2020-2024	−2.8 points	Within the margin of error	68%
Rent as share of income	29.1%2015-2019	28.6%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	59%
Rent-burdened households	48.0%2015-2019	46.9%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Unemployment rate	11.4%2015-2019	10.5%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	8.2%2015-2019	7.1%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	61%

“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 Pine Bluff, Arkansas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Pine Bluff, 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, Pine Bluff, Arkansas itself moved +0.1 points in standing on average over the same 10 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

39,743 residents (±34)

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

14,152 households (±598)

Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Under $25k31%4,411
$25k–50k27%3,751
$50k–75k16%2,324

Homes

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

Owners and renters

14,152 households (±598)

Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Own52%7,302
Rent48%6,850

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

14,511 workers (±671)

Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Arkansas share

Drive alone85%12,262
Carpool7.9%1,142
Public transit1.0%†142

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 Pine Bluff, 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 Jefferson County, the county holding most of Pine Bluff's residents.

Jefferson County has 1,199 employer establishments, 189 for every 10,000 residents (0.76× the US rate of 248; 0.82× Arkansas's), with 18,269 paid employees at an average annual pay of $49,530. The Census Bureau also counts 4,490 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,199; 4,490 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 189; US 248 · Arkansas 229
Paid employees: 18,269
Average annual pay: $49,530; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	122	19.2	0.92×About typical	1,318	$54,666	361
Restaurants and other eating places	93	14.6	0.80×Fewer than typical	1,690	$15,709	34
Religious organizations	79	12.4	2.24×More than typical	314	$18,777	—
Limited-service restaurants	64	10.1	1.26×More than typical	1,290	$14,928	13
Offices of physicians	53	8.3	1.29×More than typical	411	$71,134	21
Specialty trade contractors	52	8.2	0.53×Fewer than typical	325	$52,917	267
Gasoline stations	47	7.4	2.28×More than typical	215	$23,084	9
Lessors of real estate	41	6.5	0.52×Fewer than typical	137	$32,088	266
Banks and credit unions	36	5.7	1.75×More than typical	567	$73,591	—
General merchandise stores	30	4.7	2.67×More than typical	669	$27,111	13
Insurance agencies and brokerages	26	4.1	0.93×About typical	93	$66,366	53
Building equipment contractors	25	3.9	0.65×Fewer than typical	141	$44,220	46

Rank places for an industry Open Jefferson County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 63,497 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 $4.1M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Pine Bluff, Arkansas: $103 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $4.1M; +40% vs FY2025
Per resident: $103; US $1,994
Sole-source: 16%; US 30%
Single offer: 1.5%; 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 Army$3.1M75%
Federal Acquisition Service$765.1K19%
Department of Veterans Affairs$163.9K4.0%
Social Security Administration$44.7K1.1%
Agricultural Marketing Service$12.5K0.3%
Food and Drug Administration$7,1490.2%
Defense Logistics Agency$6,5990.2%
U.S. Coast Guard$3,1950.1%

Top recipients

RED EAGLE 3 JV$1.9M47%
ATLANTIC DIVING SUPPLY, INC.$765.1K19%
ENTERGY LOUISIANA, LLC$385.6K9.4%
DRS SERVICES INC$163.6K4.0%
NORTHEASTERN MICHIGAN REHABILITATION AND OPPORTUNITY CENTER$123.4K3.0%

Spending by fiscal year

2.7MFY2017
3MFY2018
5.5MFY2019
3.4MFY2020
2.8MFY2021
3.6MFY2022
1.8MFY2023
5.2M

Top industries (NAICS)

Utility system construction · 2371$1.9M47%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$810.5K20%
Electric power generation, transmission and distribution · 2211$385.6K9.4%
Investigation and security services · 5616$165.8K4.0%
Other wood product manufacturing · 3219$141.2K3.4%
Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617

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 Pine Bluff, Arkansas, so they do not add up across cities.

Pine Bluff, Arkansas's figures are part of those of Jefferson County, AR ($96.6M in FY2026), never added to them: 4.2% of that total.

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

See federal money in Jefferson 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.

Pine Bluff, 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.

Jefferson County10100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Pine Bluff, AR3

Other cities and towns in Jefferson 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/0555310

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends