Micro area · Arkansas
Pine Bluff, AR micropolitan area
Pine Bluff, AR is a micropolitan area of 2 counties in Arkansas, home to 70,211 residents. Pine Bluff, AR micropolitan area has a quality-of-life score of 3 out of 100 (very low), ranking #897 of 925 US metro and micro areas. Among metro and micro areas based in Arkansas it ranks #17 of 19. It ranks best on cost of buying a home today (low), home price to income ratio (low) and uninsured residents (under 65) (low). It ranks worst on violent crime rate (high), restaurants and bars (low) and property crime rate (high).
- Quality-of-life score
- #897 of 925 metro and micro areas
- Arkansas
- #17 of 19 in AR
- Population
- 70,211 (2025)
- Land area
- 1,470 mi²
- Density
- 47.8 /mi²
- CBSA code
- 38220
Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 64 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.
Scores by category
Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US metro and micro areas.
- Safety1#919/924
- Economy3#900/925
- Housing79#192/925
- Health8#847/925
- Healthcare—
- Environment13#796/917
- Education20#738/925
- Infrastructure15#791/925
- Community8#849/925
- Leisure & amenities3#901/925
Strengths · Weaknesses
Indicators where Pine Bluff, AR micropolitan area ranks highest and lowest among US metro and micro areas (score = percentile, 100 = best).
Strengths
- Cost of buying a home today · low19.1%
- Home price to income ratio · low2.3×
- Uninsured residents (under 65) · low6.1%
- Pharmacies · high2.0 /10k77/100Arkansas 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAggregated from counties
- Social associations · high13.4 /10k76/100Arkansas 11.7 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
- Distance to an airport · low38 mi73/100Arkansas 46 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauAggregated from counties
Weaknesses
- Violent crime rate · high1,041 /100k0/100Arkansas 532 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2024Federal Bureau of InvestigationAggregated from counties
- Restaurants and bars · low3.4 /10k1/100Arkansas 7.7 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAggregated from counties
- Property crime rate · high3,219 /100k1/100Arkansas 1,645 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2024Federal Bureau of InvestigationAggregated from counties
- Homicide rate · high24.0 /100k1/100Arkansas 7.0 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionAggregated from counties
- Adult obesity · high45.9%1/100Arkansas 40.6%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
- Arts, entertainment and recreation · low1.1 /10k1/100Arkansas 3.9 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAggregated from counties
Trends
The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.
- PopulationFalling
74,376 (2020) → 70,211 (2025)
−5.6%5 yearsUS 331,578,104 → 341,784,857
- Drought exposureWorsening
8% (2021) → 99% (Oct 2025–Sep 2026)
+91 pts5 yearsUS 40% → 43%
- Broadband subscriptionsImproving
59.7% (2015-2019) → 82.2% (2020-2024)
+23 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
- Homicide rateImproving
45.4 /100k (2021) → 24.0 /100k (May 2025–Apr 2026)
−47%5 yearsUS 7.8 /100k → 4.8 /100k
- Arts, entertainment and recreationWorsening
2.2 /10k (2020) → 1.1 /10k (2025)
−47%5 yearsUS 4.8 /10k → 5.5 /10k
- Child poverty rateImproving
32.8% (2015-2019) → 23.5% (2020-2024)
−9.3 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.
Metro and micro areas like Pine Bluff, AR micropolitan area five years ago that improved
The places whose measures looked most like those of Pine Bluff, AR micropolitan area 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.
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).
Income
How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.
Homes
Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.
Getting to work
How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.
Jobs and pay
What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.
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.
Federal contract spending
Federal grants & assistance
Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.
Counties in Pine Bluff, AR
Whole counties, as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates the area. Federal spending below is the exact sum of these counties.
Principal cities
The cities the area is named for.
Largest cities and towns
By population, for places with most of their residents in the area.
Other metro and micro areas in Arkansas
Areas based in Arkansas, best score first.
- Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR43
- Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR80
- Fort Smith, AR-OK16
- Jonesboro, AR16
- Hot Springs, AR28
- Russellville, AR20
- Searcy, AR9
- Paragould, AR3
- Harrison, AR33
- Mountain Home, AR31
- Batesville, AR14
- Blytheville, AR2
- El Dorado, AR11
- Malvern, AR8
- Camden, AR8
- Magnolia, AR13
- Forrest City, AR0
- Arkadelphia, AR18
Neighboring metro and micro areas
Places that share a border, best score first.
Similar metro and micro areas
Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).
- El Dorado, AR11Alike on Price level, Home value, Pop. change
- Greenwood, MS3Alike on Home value (Zillow), Inactivity, Life expectancy
- Greenville, MS1Alike on Voter turnout, Inactivity, Obesity
- Orangeburg, SC3Alike on Violent crime, Home value, Homicides
- Muskogee, OK2Alike on Life expectancy, Price level, Inactivity
Data and sources
Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.
- Mapping Injury, Overdose, and ViolenceCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2026-10-01
- PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
- Daily county PM2.5 and ozone (EPA downscaler model)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2022
- Care Compare: Hospital General Information and Timely and Effective CareCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services · release 2026-07-22
- Distance to airports and intercity railFederal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau · release 2025+amtrak-2026-04-23
- Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master filesFederal Bureau of Investigation · release 2025
- Public Libraries SurveyInstitute of Museum and Library Services · release FY2024
- U.S. Drought Monitor county statisticsNational Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAA · release 2026-09-29
- Fatality Analysis Reporting SystemNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration · release 2024
- nClimGrid-Daily county averagesNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · release 2025
- Regional Economic AccountsU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · release 2024
- Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
- Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2026 Q1
- American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
- Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
- Business Formation StatisticsU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-10-01
- 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
- Alternative Fuels Data Center station locatorU.S. Department of Energy · release 2026-10
- Election Administration and Voting SurveyU.S. Election Assistance Commission · release 2024
- County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement
- Zillow Home Value Index, Observed Rent Index and affordabilityZillow Research · release 2026-08