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Place dossier plate
SheetAR-MENA-AR · Mena, AR 5,605 pop · income 21st 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 Mena
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Mena on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Warren · lowest
35,064
Warren · lowest
35,064 median HH income
23.7% of the leader · rank #1
Mena · this city
50,875
Mena · this city
50,875 median HH income
34.4% of the leader · rank #2
La Fontaine · near
50,875
La Fontaine · near
50,875 median HH income
34.4% of the leader · rank #3
Watkins · near
50,875
Watkins · near
50,875 median HH income
34.4% of the leader · rank #4
Walters · near
50,875
Walters · near
50,875 median HH income
34.4% of the leader · rank #5
O'Donnell · near
50,875
O'Donnell · near
50,875 median HH income
34.4% of the leader · rank #6
Cave Springs · highest
147,917
Cave Springs · highest
147,917 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 Mena 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: 5,605.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Mena - the verdict
Nationally, Mena sits in the 21st percentile for household income and the 16th percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
21st
percentile, household income
15th
percentile, home value
3rd
percentile, median rent
16th
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: Mena, AR
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 5,605 residents in Mena, a small town within Arkansas. Households in Mena report a median income of $50,875 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 16.7%. Typical homes in Mena are valued around $114,200, and the median resident age is 40.6 years. 18.9% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 54.1% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 4 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Building Boom), up 300% from five years earlier. Mena's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 2946.9 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). NOAA puts Mena's yearly average temperature at 59.1°F with 61.4 inches of precipitation per year and 4.0 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in Arkansas run below the national norm: the state registers 86.9 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Well Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $944 monthly. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Arkansas's average monthly utility costs around $210 (state average). 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 Mena'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 reported crime to population change to within-city variation to housing and income to work and mobility to schools and households to climate and hazard context to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Mena, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates, local building permits, matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
What can the FBI record say about safety in Mena?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2946.9 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 29% 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.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +43 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +0.8% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 4 housing units authorized in 2024. 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.
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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Mena?
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 White Hall (5,520 residents, $84,304 income); Berryville (5,715 residents, $39,548 income); Tontitown (5,739 residents, $80,987 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Holtville, CA (5,606 residents); Rancho Murieta, CA (5,606 residents); Dundee, FL (5,604 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 Mena?
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 2.2 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 16.7%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
2.2×
Home value
$114,200
Household income
$50,875
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 80.7%. 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
80.7%
Work from home
1.1%
Public transit
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 2,363 workers age 16+.
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 7 public schools within the city match. 18.9% 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.
Poverty estimate
16.7%
Bachelor's degree+
18.9%
Matched public schools
7
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 59.1°F, with 61.4 inches of precipitation and 4.0 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Arkansas is 55.5 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
FEMA risk index (state avg)
55.5
Annual precipitation
61.4 in
Mean temperature
59.1°F
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
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
18.9%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime F
373 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Household income F
$50,875
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
16.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Mena profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 97/100 (A+) · 86.9 index
Bachelor's+ share: 31/100 (F) · 18.9%
Violent crime: 24/100 (F) · 373 /100k
Household income: 21/100 (F) · $50,875
Poverty rate: 19/100 (F) · 16.7%
Where Mena sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Mena'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 - Mena highlighted among 8 peers.Read the chart values
Mena, AR (this city): home $114,200, crime 2,947/100k
Holtville, CA : home $268,800, crime 415/100k
Scituate, MA : home $699,200, crime 157/100k
White Hall, AR : home $207,100, crime 1,167/100k
Berryville, AR : home $153,500, crime 2,750/100k
Tontitown, AR : home $394,200, crime 655/100k
Cave Springs, AR : home $431,300, crime 352/100k
Warren, AR : home $86,400, crime 1,362/100k
How does Mena compare to other US cities?
Mena measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income21% higher than other cities
Home value15% pricier than other cities
Median rent3% pricier than other cities
Safety16% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Arkansas alone, Mena ranks #128 of 160 Arkansas cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Mena 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 Mena near the bottom of Arkansas's cities
Among the 524 Arkansas cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Mena ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Mena only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#217 of 495
56th percentile in Arkansas
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 524
0th percentile in Arkansas
Median Home Value
#223 of 482
54th percentile in Arkansas
Poverty Rate
#195 of 524
62nd percentile in Arkansas
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#146 of 524
72nd 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
21st percentile nationally for median household income · 16th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Mena's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Mena'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 Mena's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$114,200Among the most affordablemore affordable than 85% 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
Mena's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.2×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#2,682 of 15,516
More affordable than 83% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,496 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.2×, Mena sits in the affordable band:
national rank #2,682 of 15,516 and #2,496 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
$50,875Mena, AR median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Mena, 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 Mena, AR.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)18.9%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)16.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)54.1%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
5,605
Median Income
$50,875
Median Home Value
$114,200
Median Age
40.6
Poverty Rate
16.7%
Labor force participation
54.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
18.9%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2946.9
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
372.8
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2574.1
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.
Climate
Avg Temperature
59.1°F
Annual Precipitation
61.4"
Annual Snowfall
4.0"
Schools
Total Schools
7
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Mena's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
5,564 residents
2021
5,577 residents
2022
5,584 residents
2023
5,603 residents
2024
5,595 residents
2025
5,607 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
4
housing units authorized
Single-Family
4
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.7
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
1
1
0
$0.1M
2020
3
3
0
$0.6M
2021
4
4
0
$0.8M
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
2
2
0
$0.4M
2024
4
4
0
$0.8M
Permit volume increased 300% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
80.7%
Carpool
13.7%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
3.3%
Work from Home
1.1%
Other
1.2%
Based on 2,363 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 Mena. 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 Mena 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 Mena sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Mena 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, NOAA Climate Normals, 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.