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Ranked · Best value · Arkansas

Best value cities in Arkansas

Cities of 25,000+ residents, scored with the “Best value” weighting the live tool uses, heaviest on cost of living index, median home price, 2-bedroom rent, median household income. Scores are relative to this set; open the tool to change the weights and re-rank.

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Top 10 · computed ranking

  1. 1.Pine Bluff, AR40k residents

    64/100

    cost of living index: 70 · median home price: $89,400 · median household income: $42,718

  2. 2.Jacksonville, AR29k residents

    62/100

    cost of living index: 73 · median home price: $163,400 · median household income: $49,666

  3. 3.Russellville, AR29k residents

    60/100

    cost of living index: 74 · median home price: $172,400 · median household income: $50,877

  4. 4.Paragould, AR30k residents

    59/100

    cost of living index: 75 · median home price: $181,500 · median household income: $56,980

  5. 5.Cabot, AR27k residents

    58/100

    cost of living index: 78 · median home price: $207,300 · median household income: $75,000

  6. 6.Fort Smith, AR90k residents

    57/100

    cost of living index: 76 · median home price: $178,100 · median household income: $54,816

  7. 7.Sherwood, AR33k residents

    57/100

    cost of living index: 79 · median home price: $199,500 · median household income: $81,328

  8. 8.Texarkana, AR29k residents

    57/100

    cost of living index: 75 · median home price: $170,200 · median household income: $45,835

  9. 9.Hot Springs, AR38k residents

    55/100

    cost of living index: 76 · median home price: $165,500 · median household income: $47,760

  10. 10.Benton, AR37k residents

    53/100

    cost of living index: 80 · median home price: $212,700 · median household income: $72,876

Methodology: each city is scored 0–100 by min–max normalizing every weighted facet across this candidate set (direction-aware), identical math to the tool's “Best fit” tab. A different weighting produces a different order, which is the point: this is a starting shortlist, not a verdict.

Questions & answers
Which city is the best value in Arkansas?
Pine Bluff, AR ranks first with a fit score of 64/100, followed by Jacksonville (62) and Russellville (60), using the "Best value" weighting.
How is this ranking calculated?
Each of the 10 candidate cities (25,000+ residents) is scored 0 to 100 by min-max normalizing the weighted facets, heaviest on cost of living index, median home price, 2-bedroom rent, median household income, across this set. Change the weights in the live tool and the order changes with them.