Searcy, AR

Micro Area Profile

77,838 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Searcy, AR micropolitan area.

55out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 42% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity477th of 835 metro and micro areas measured47
SchoolsTop 25% of 695 metro and micro areas measured70
GrowthTop 21% of 834 metro and micro areas measured68
Housing affordability434th of 835 metro and micro areas measured73
Climate464th of 835 metro and micro areas measured64
Physical resilience681st of 835 metro and micro areas measured29
Access504th of 835 metro and micro areas measured72
Economic stability717th of 835 metro and micro areas measured20
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.5% and median household income $55,249, putting employment conditions in the middle range of metro and micro areas measured.

In the public schools here, 49% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 11.6 students for every teacher.

248 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 4% 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

Population
77,838
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$55,249
Bottom 15% nationally
Density
75/sq mi
1,034 sq mi of land
Median age
38.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Arkansas
Nearest major airport
LIT
45 mi · Bill and Hillary Clinton Ntl/Adams Fld
Median home value
$163,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.5% — higher than in all but 38% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment grew 0.5% over the past year, to 33,500 employed residents.

Median household income of $55,249 is lower than in 85% of measured US metro and micro areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$3,8502024 ACS 5-Year$55,249Bottom 15%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,3492024 ACS 5-Year$28,808Bottom 12%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year16.7%Bottom 20%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year24.1 minTop 49%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year20.4%Bottom 26%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year82.4%89th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202633,500Bottom 45%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+5.2%Top 6%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+0.5%Top 26%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202635,08445th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year70.5%Bottom 17%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%57th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.1%Bottom 40%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.5%Bottom 38%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year4.8%11th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.12.7
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.5% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 3 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

49% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 44% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 11.6 students for every full-time teacher across 26 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
27
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
11.6
across 26 of them
Math proficiency
48.6%
Top 33% in Arkansas
Reading proficiency
43.6%
Top 39% in Arkansas
The 12 largest of 27 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Searcy High SchoolSEARCY SCHOOL DISTRICT1,22010.537%47%
Beebe High SchoolBEEBE SCHOOL DISTRICT1,0498.339%45%
Southwest Middle SchoolSEARCY SCHOOL DISTRICT91318.665%55%
Beebe Elementary SchoolBEEBE SCHOOL DISTRICT90418.862%41%
Ahlf Junior High SchoolSEARCY SCHOOL DISTRICT57616.559%56%
White County Central Elementary SchoolWHITE COUNTY CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT56014.745%40%
H.l. Lubker Elementary SchoolBALD KNOB SCHOOL DISTRICT51715.756%30%
Beebe Middle SchoolBEEBE SCHOOL DISTRICT50917.657%37%
Beebe Junior High SchoolBEEBE SCHOOL DISTRICT49113.359%50%
McRae Elementary SchoolSEARCY SCHOOL DISTRICT44519.367%52%
Beebe Early ChildhoodBEEBE SCHOOL DISTRICT43914.6——
Sidney Deener Elementary SchoolSEARCY SCHOOL DISTRICT42121.162%42%

59.8% 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.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $754 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.46% 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 $850 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 64% of the median household income here of $55,249.

The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $850 a month.

A median home at $163,600 costs 2.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $70,742, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
29.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$880
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$850
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$163,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Searcy’s median household income of $55,249, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.3Top 30%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year69.1%45th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±662024 ACS 5-Year33,90047th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$734Top 13%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,149Top 6%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$880Top 4%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$302024 ACS 5-Year$850Top 24%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$5,4662024 ACS 5-Year$163,60025th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$482024 ACS 5-Year$7546th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,2512024 ACS 5-Year$70,742Bottom 21%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.03%2024 ACS 5-Year0.46%10th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year29.7%Bottom 39%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2392024 ACS 5-Year61438th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.8%49th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year10.8%76th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±5822024 ACS 5-Year4,27147th percentileof 9352024 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.

Development Momentum

68/ 100
Top 21% of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

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 grown 3% since 2020, reaching 79,091 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 79,091 residents in 2024, up 0.7% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 248 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 3.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
248
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.2
Top 40% nationally
Year over year
+4%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202479k77k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 93°F and January a low of 30°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 51.8 inches, including 1.8 inches of snow.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station SEARCY, 2.2 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals51.8"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals1.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals30°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals93°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals43°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

29 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 35% of it. Tornado is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Ice stormHigh
EarthquakeModerate
Inland floodingElevated
Winter weatherModerate
LightningModerate
LandslideModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: tornado, strong wind, heat wave, wildfire, hail, drought, hurricane, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding, 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

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Bill and Hillary Clinton Ntl/Adams Fld at 45 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year87.2%Bottom 37%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle45 miBottom 44%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 16%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year10.8%Bottom 28%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Bill and Hillary Clinton Ntl/Adams FldLIT45 mi8,273 ft
Tunica MuniUTA89 mi8,500 ft
Frederick W Smith Intl/MemphisMEM101 mi11,120 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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Area Score
55
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
Current conditionsNOAA 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.

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