Blytheville, AR
Micro Area Profile
39,126 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Blytheville, AR micropolitan area.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 9 sourcesEmployment conditions sit below most comparable metro and micro areas measured: unemployment is 5.0% and the Opportunity signal places Blytheville in the bottom 23%.
In the public schools here, 43% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 11.9 students for every teacher.
65 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 2% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.
These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 5.0% — higher than in all but 23% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.
Employment fell 0.2% over the past year, to 19,665 employed residents.
Median household income of $52,548 is lower than in 90% of measured US metro and micro areas.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income ±$4,7662024 ACS 5-Year | $52,548 | Bottom 10%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$1,7562024 ACS 5-Year | $30,368 | Bottom 19%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 20.6% | Bottom 8%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±1.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 21.3 min | Top 22%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 13.7% | Bottom 2%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 81.3% | 82nd percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentJuly 2026 | 19,665 | Bottom 24%of 835 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)July 2026 | +9.4% | Top 1%of 835 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)July 2026 | −0.2% | Top 39%of 835 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceJuly 2026 | 20,694 | 24th percentileof 835 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 70.6% | Bottom 17%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.0% | 10th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026 | −1.4% | Top 3%of 835 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateJuly 2026 | 5.0% | Bottom 23%of 835 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 2.9% | 1st percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Unemployment rate
43% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 38% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 11.9 students for every full-time teacher across 20 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rivercrest Elementary School | RIVERCREST SCHOOL DISTRICT | 675 | 18.8 | 51% | 43% |
| Gosnell Elementary School | GOSNELL SCHOOL DISTRICT | 648 | 15.4 | 54% | 43% |
| Manila Elementary School | MANILA SCHOOL DISTRICT | 601 | 17.2 | 67% | 57% |
| Gosnell High School | GOSNELL SCHOOL DISTRICT | 567 | 10.5 | 52% | 48% |
| Manila High School | MANILA SCHOOL DISTRICT | 476 | 11.3 | 37% | 42% |
| Buffalo Island Central Elementary School | BUFFALO ISLAND CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT | 404 | 13.9 | 65% | 51% |
| Blytheville High School | BLYTHEVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT | 369 | 10.9 | 9% | 20% |
| Academies at Rivercrest High School · charter | RIVERCREST SCHOOL DISTRICT | 351 | 5.8 | 20% | 31% |
| Blytheville Primary School | BLYTHEVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT | 343 | 17.1 | — | — |
| Blytheville Elementary School | BLYTHEVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT | 307 | 16.2 | 27% | 19% |
| Kipp: Blytheville College Preparatory · charter | KIPP DELTA PUBLIC SCHOOLS | 292 | 19.5 | 37% | 22% |
| Carroll Smith Elementary School | OSCEOLA SCHOOL DISTRICT | 265 | 13.9 | 42% | 17% |
83.6% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.
Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Arkansas’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $635 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.52% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $880, close to the $830 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $880 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $35,200 a year, about 67% of the median household income here of $52,548.
The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $830 a month.
A median home at $122,500 costs 1.7 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $70,711, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.
The figures above are measured against Blytheville’s median household income of $52,548, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year | 1.7 | Top 4%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 60.0% | 7th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±372024 ACS 5-Year | 19,133 | 25th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $671 | Top 2%of 818 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $1,161 | Top 8%of 818 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $880 | Top 4%of 818 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$352024 ACS 5-Year | $830 | Top 19%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$8,2062024 ACS 5-Year | $122,500 | 7th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$672024 ACS 5-Year | $635 | 3rd percentileof 933 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$6,1552024 ACS 5-Year | $70,711 | Bottom 21%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.52% | 17th percentileof 932 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year | 31.0% | Bottom 24%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±712024 ACS 5-Year | 94 | 6th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.5% | 9th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 18.7% | 99th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±4312024 ACS 5-Year | 3,681 | 41st percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
Population has fallen 6% since 2020, to 38,095 in 2024.
New construction is predominantly single-family: of 65 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 15% are in buildings of five or more homes.
At 1.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.
Population, annual estimates
Weather & climate
6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 91°F and January a low of 31°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 43.0 inches.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 43.0" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 31°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 91°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 6 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 42°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, inland flooding and drought, with earthquake alone responsible for 62% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.
Low or minimal exposure: lightning, heat wave, inland flooding, hail, hurricane, strong wind, wildfire, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
What this profile does not cover
Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.
- Reported crime
- Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
- Cost of living
- Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
- Death-certificate rates
- The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
- Air quality
- The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
- Taxes
- Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Arkansas Intl at 15 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 83.8% | Bottom 12%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 15 mi | Top 20%of 835 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 4 | Top 43%of 835 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 12.1% | Bottom 16%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas Intl | BYH | 15 mi | 11,602 ft |
| Millington/Memphis | NQA | 30 mi | 8,001 ft |
| Frederick W Smith Intl/Memphis | MEM | 50 mi | 11,120 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
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Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyData & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Current conditions | NOAA National Weather Service National Weather Service current conditions | Live observation, read when the page opens |
Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.