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Place dossier plate
SheetAR-FORREST-CITY-AR · Forrest City, AR 12,826 pop · income 4th pct · 7 tracts
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 Forrest City
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Forrest City on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
McKees Rocks · lowest
33,510
McKees Rocks · lowest
33,510 median HH income
20.7% of the leader · rank #1
Rayville · near
33,511
Rayville · near
33,511 median HH income
20.7% of the leader · rank #2
South Alamo · near
33,516
South Alamo · near
33,516 median HH income
20.7% of the leader · rank #3
Kaibab Estate… · near
33,520
Kaibab Estate… · near
33,520 median HH income
20.7% of the leader · rank #4
Forrest City · this city
33,522
Forrest City · this city
33,522 median HH income
20.7% of the leader · rank #5
Stony Brook · highest
162,054
Stony Brook · highest
162,054 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #6
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 Forrest 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: 12,826.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Forrest City - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Forrest City lands in the 4th percentile for household income and the 7th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
4th
percentile, household income
6th
percentile, home value
3rd
percentile, median rent
7th
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: Forrest City, AR
12,826 people live in Forrest City, Arkansas - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $33,522 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 31.5%. Forrest City's housing stock carries a median value of $87,800, and the median resident age is 36.2 years. Educational attainment runs 11.7% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 35.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 2 residential building permits were authorized in Forrest City (Low Activity), per Census BPS data. Forrest City's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 4030.2 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, above the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Living costs in Arkansas run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Arkansas at 86.9 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Well Below Average). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $944 per month. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Arkansas run around $210, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 55.5 out of 100 (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Forrest 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 housing and income to schools and households to population change to work and mobility to comparison shortlist to within-city variation to reported crime; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Forrest City, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, local building permits, commute-mode shares, within-city Census tract profiles.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Forrest 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. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 2.6 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 31.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
What does the education layer cover for Forrest City?
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
The NCES join finds 4 public schools within the city match. 11.7% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
Which cities make useful reference points for Forrest 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 Mountain Home (13,021 residents, $42,103 income); Blytheville (13,026 residents, $49,928 income); Harrison (13,217 residents, $40,568 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Stony Brook, NY (12,827 residents); Santa Fe, TX (12,828 residents); Cheney, WA (12,830 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.
What can 7 Census tracts reveal inside Forrest City?
PlainCities matches 7 Census tracts to this city.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
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.
Population change
Is Forrest City growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -669 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -5.2% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 2 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
2020 estimate
12,977
2025 estimate
12,308
Period change
-5.2%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
What does the journey to work look like in Forrest City?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 81.2%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Drive alone
81.2%
Work from home
2.6%
Public transit
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 3,484 workers age 16+.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Forrest City?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 4030.2 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 77% higher 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.
Total reported rate
4030.2
Violent rate
1175.8
Property rate
2854.4
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Lowest-decile income · poverty 31.5% (Highest-decile poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
86.9 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Arkansas average
F
City profile score · Forrest City, AR
21/100
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.
Bachelor's+ share F
11.7%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$33,522
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
31.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime F
1,176 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Forrest City profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 97/100 (A+) · 86.9 index
Bachelor's+ share: 11/100 (F) · 11.7%
Household income: 0/100 (F) · $33,522
Poverty rate: 0/100 (F) · 31.5%
Violent crime: 0/100 (F) · 1,176 /100k
Where Forrest City sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Forrest 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 - Forrest City highlighted among 11 peers.Read the chart values
Forrest City, AR (this city): home $87,800, crime 4,030/100k
Santa Fe, TX : home $290,200, crime 820/100k
Cheney, WA : home $330,300, crime 2,042/100k
West Monroe, LA : home $174,400, crime 7,042/100k
Solana Beach, CA : home $1,934,700, crime 1,271/100k
Mountain Home, AR : home $160,200, crime 2,532/100k
Blytheville, AR : home $101,200, crime 5,780/100k
Harrison, AR : home $165,000, crime 2,107/100k
Marion, AR : home $206,300, crime 2,871/100k
Batesville, AR : home $159,200, crime 1,901/100k
Magnolia, AR : home $166,500, crime 3,042/100k
How does Forrest City compare to other US cities?
Where Forrest City sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income4% higher than other cities
Home value6% pricier than other cities
Median rent3% pricier than other cities
Safety7% 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, Forrest City ranks #144 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 Forrest 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 Forrest City near the bottom of Arkansas's cities
Among the 524 Arkansas cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Forrest City ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Forrest City only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#427 of 495
14th percentile in Arkansas
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 524
0th percentile in Arkansas
Median Home Value
#330 of 482
31st percentile in Arkansas
Poverty Rate
#40 of 524
92nd percentile in Arkansas
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#309 of 524
40th 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
4th percentile nationally for median household income · 7th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Forrest City's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Forrest 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 Forrest City's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$87,800Among the most affordablemore affordable than 94% 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
Forrest City's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.6×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#4,614 of 15,516
More affordable than 70% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#467 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 2.6×, Forrest City sits in the affordable band:
national rank #4,614 of 15,516 and #467 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
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
$33,522Forrest City, AR median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Forrest 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 Forrest City, AR.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)11.7%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)31.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)35.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
12,826
Median Income
$33,522
Median Home Value
$87,800
Median Age
36.2
Poverty Rate
31.5%
Labor force participation
35.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
11.7%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
4030.2
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
1175.8
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2854.4
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.
Schools
Total Schools
4
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Forrest City's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
12,977 residents
2021
12,805 residents
2022
12,612 residents
2023
12,465 residents
2024
12,379 residents
2025
12,308 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Low Activity
Total Permits (2024)
2
housing units authorized
Single-Family
2
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.2
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
2
2
0
$0.4M
2021
9
5
4
$0.5M
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
1
1
0
$0.1M
2024
2
2
0
$0.6M
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
81.2%
Carpool
12.5%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
2.5%
Work from Home
2.6%
Other
1.2%
Based on 3,484 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 Forrest 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 Forrest 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 Forrest City sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Forrest 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, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, 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.