Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Place dossier plate
SheetAR-CENTRAL-CITY-AR · Central City, AR 570 pop · income 51st pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Central City
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Central City on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Kingsland · lowest
26,731
Kingsland · lowest
26,731 median HH income
23.7% of the leader · rank #1
Central City · this city
71,071
Central City · this city
71,071 median HH income
63.0% of the leader · rank #2
Leesburg · near
71,071
Leesburg · near
71,071 median HH income
63.0% of the leader · rank #3
Randolph · near
71,071
Randolph · near
71,071 median HH income
63.0% of the leader · rank #4
Minto · near
71,071
Minto · near
71,071 median HH income
63.0% of the leader · rank #5
Glidden · near
71,071
Glidden · near
71,071 median HH income
63.0% of the leader · rank #6
Mermentau · highest
112,864
Mermentau · highest
112,864 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Central City on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 570.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Central City - the verdict
Central City ranks in the 51st percentile for household income and the 79th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
51st
percentile, household income
19th
percentile, home value
3rd
percentile, median rent
79th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Central City, AR
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 570 residents in Central City, a small town within Arkansas. Median household income here is $71,071 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 4.8%. Central City's housing stock carries a median value of $123,000, and the median resident age is 41.5 years. About 11.8% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 65.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Central City reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 643.8 incidents per 100,000 residents, below the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Living costs in Arkansas run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Arkansas scores 86.9 (Well Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $944 per month. Monthly utility costs average around $210 across Arkansas, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. Workers in Central City report an average commute of 17.6 minutes, with 87.7% driving alone and 6.3% working from home. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 55.5 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Central City's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from population change to work and mobility to reported crime to housing and income to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Central City, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Is Central City growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +2 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +0.4% change. No comparable local building-permit series is available here, so population change should not be read as a housing-supply measure. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
What does the journey to work look like in Central City?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 87.7%. The reported mean trip to work is 17.6 minutes.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Central City?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 643.8 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 72% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
Which cities make useful reference points for Central City?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within Arkansas, the closest population matches are Madison (574 residents, $60,809 income); Junction City (564 residents, $35,506 income); Altheimer (578 residents, $41,364 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Coatesville, IN (570 residents); Sutherland, IA (570 residents); Mermentau, LA (570 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Central City?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 1.7 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 4.8%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
1.7×
Home value
$123,000
Household income
$71,071
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Above median income · poverty 4.8% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
86.9 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Arkansas average
B-
City profile score · Central City, AR
67/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living A+
86.9 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Violent crime A+
0 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate B-
4.8%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income C-
$71,071
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
11.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Central City profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 97/100 (A+) · 86.9 index
Violent crime: 97/100 (A+) · 0 /100k
Poverty rate: 67/100 (B-) · 4.8%
Household income: 51/100 (C-) · $71,071
Bachelor's+ share: 11/100 (F) · 11.8%
Where Central City sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Central City's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Central City highlighted among 21 peers.Read the chart values
Central City, AR (this city): home $123,000, crime 644/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does Central City compare to other US cities?
Central City measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income51% higher than other cities
Home value19% pricier than other cities
Median rent3% pricier than other cities
Safety79% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at Arkansas, Central City ranks #17 of 160 Arkansas cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Central City against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Arkansas only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Arkansas-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Central City near the bottom of Arkansas's cities
Among the 524 Arkansas cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Central City ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Central City only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#71 of 495
86th percentile in Arkansas
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 524
0th percentile in Arkansas
Median Home Value
#192 of 482
60th percentile in Arkansas
Poverty Rate
#414 of 524
21st percentile in Arkansas
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#302 of 524
41st percentile in Arkansas
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Arkansas only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
51st percentile nationally for median household income · 79th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Central City's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Central City's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Central City's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$123,000Among the most affordablemore affordable than 81% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Central City's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.7×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#825 of 15,516
More affordable than 95% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#800 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.7×, Central City sits in the affordable band:
national rank #825 of 15,516 and #800 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$71,071Central City, AR median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Central City, AR median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Central City, AR.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)11.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)4.8%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)65.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
570
Median Income
$71,071
Median Home Value
$123,000
Median Age
41.5
Poverty Rate
4.8%
Labor force participation
65.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
11.8%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
643.8
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
0.0
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
643.8
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Central City's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
467 residents
2021
469 residents
2022
471 residents
2023
467 residents
2024
470 residents
2025
469 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
17.6 minutes
Drive Alone
87.7%
Carpool
6.0%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
6.3%
Based on 317 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Arkansas statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $210
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Arkansas at $210 (electricity about $110 , water and sewer about $42 ).
These are Arkansas statewide averages, not a meter reading for Central City. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Arkansas's BEA cost-of-living index is 86.9 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Central City is $944/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Arkansas statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 55.5 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Arkansas statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Central City sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Central City compares to similar-size Arkansas cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.