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Place dossier plate
SheetAR-OPPELO-AR · Oppelo, AR 1,033 pop · income 44th 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 Oppelo
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Oppelo on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Plumerville · lowest
38,438
Plumerville · lowest
38,438 median HH income
15.4% of the leader · rank #1
Fredericksburg · near
65,809
Fredericksburg · near
65,809 median HH income
26.3% of the leader · rank #2
Oppelo · this city
65,813
Oppelo · this city
65,813 median HH income
26.3% of the leader · rank #3
Oakford · near
65,813
Oakford · near
65,813 median HH income
26.3% of the leader · rank #4
New London · near
65,815
New London · near
65,815 median HH income
26.3% of the leader · rank #5
University Pa… · near
65,815
University Pa… · near
65,815 median HH income
26.3% of the leader · rank #6
Old Field · highest
250,001
Old Field · highest
250,001 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
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Oppelo on ACS population and median household income
. 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: 1,033.
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Oppelo lands in the 44th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
44th
percentile, household income
19th
percentile, home value
3rd
percentile, median rent
📝 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: Oppelo, AR
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 1,033 residents in Oppelo, a small town within Arkansas. Median household income here is $65,813 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 2.8%. Oppelo's housing stock carries a median value of $124,700, and the median resident age is 41.4 years. 13.1% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 58.4% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 0 residential building permits were authorized in Oppelo (No Permits), per Census BPS data.
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). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $944 per month statewide. Monthly utility costs average around $210 across Arkansas, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. 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 Oppelo'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 housing and income to comparison shortlist to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Oppelo, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, local building permits, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Is Oppelo growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +14 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +1.9% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 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 upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
How far does income reach against housing in Oppelo?
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 1.9 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 2.8%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Which cities make useful reference points for Oppelo?
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.
Within Arkansas, the closest population matches are Horatio (1,025 residents, $44,417 income); Genoa (1,008 residents, $55,500 income); Marvell (1,008 residents, $49,000 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Avalon, FL (1,033 residents); Mexico Beach, FL (1,033 residents); Chebanse, IL (1,033 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 does the journey to work look like in Oppelo?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 89.0%. 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. 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.
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.
Poverty rate A-
2.8%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income D
$65,813
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
13.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Oppelo profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 97/100 (A+) · 86.9 index
Poverty rate: 80/100 (A-) · 2.8%
Household income: 43/100 (D) · $65,813
Bachelor's+ share: 15/100 (F) · 13.1%
How does Oppelo compare to other US cities?
Oppelo measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income44% higher than other cities
Home value19% pricier than other cities
Median rent3% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Oppelo 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 Oppelo near the bottom of Arkansas's cities
Among the 524 Arkansas cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Oppelo ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Oppelo only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#101 of 495
80th percentile in Arkansas
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 524
0th percentile in Arkansas
Median Home Value
#188 of 482
61st percentile in Arkansas
Poverty Rate
#443 of 524
15th percentile in Arkansas
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#271 of 524
48th 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
44th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Oppelo's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$124,700Among 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
Oppelo's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.9×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#1,287 of 15,516
More affordable than 92% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,242 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.9×, Oppelo sits in the affordable band:
national rank #1,287 of 15,516 and #1,242 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
$65,813Oppelo, AR median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Oppelo, 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 Oppelo, AR.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)13.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)2.8%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)58.4%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,033
Median Income
$65,813
Median Home Value
$124,700
Median Age
41.4
Poverty Rate
2.8%
Labor force participation
58.4%
Bachelor's Degree+
13.1%
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Oppelo's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
752 residents
2021
759 residents
2022
761 residents
2023
758 residents
2024
767 residents
2025
766 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
0
0
0
-
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
89.0%
Carpool
7.4%
Public Transit
1.3%
Walk
1.6%
Work from Home
0.2%
Based on 446 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 Oppelo. 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 Oppelo 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 Oppelo sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Oppelo 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, 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.