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Place dossier plate
SheetAR-WARD-AR · Ward, AR 6,367 pop · income 60th 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 Ward
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Ward on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Lebanon · lowest
39,483
Lebanon · lowest
39,483 median HH income
15.8% of the leader · rank #1
Ward · this city
78,841
Ward · this city
78,841 median HH income
31.5% of the leader · rank #2
Country Homes · near
78,841
Country Homes · near
78,841 median HH income
31.5% of the leader · rank #3
Evansville · near
78,841
Evansville · near
78,841 median HH income
31.5% of the leader · rank #4
Larimore · near
78,846
Larimore · near
78,846 median HH income
31.5% of the leader · rank #5
St. Mary's · near
78,854
St. Mary's · near
78,854 median HH income
31.5% of the leader · rank #6
Cherry Hills · highest
250,001
Cherry Hills · 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, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Ward 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: 6,367.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Ward - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Ward places in the 60th percentile for household income and the 51st percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
60th
percentile, household income
37th
percentile, home value
3rd
percentile, median rent
51st
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: Ward, AR
Ward is a small town in Arkansas, home to 6,367 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $78,841 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 14.3%. Ward's housing stock carries a median value of $182,100, and the median resident age is 30.0 years. About 21.7% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 64.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 68 residential building permits were authorized in Ward (Slowing), down 16% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Ward reports a comparatively low crime rate: per-100,000 total crime stands at 1350.6 in FBI UCR data, below the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
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. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $944 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Arkansas run around $210, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. 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 Ward'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 schools and households to housing and income to comparison shortlist to reported crime; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Ward, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, annual population history, local building permits.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Population change
Is Ward growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
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.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +1,089 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +17.7% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 68 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
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.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 77.5%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
The NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 21.7% 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.
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
Which cities make useful reference points for Ward?
Within Arkansas, the closest population matches are East End (6,344 residents, $77,122 income); De Queen (6,077 residents, $50,979 income); Osceola (6,807 residents, $40,783 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Chickasaw, AL (6,367 residents); Cherry Hills, CO (6,366 residents); Avra Valley, AZ (6,364 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.
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.
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 Ward?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 14.3%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
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.
Household income
$78,841
Home value
$182,100
Value / income
2.3×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
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.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1350.6 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 41% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
1069.2
Violent rate
281.4
Total reported rate
1350.6
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Above median income · poverty 14.3% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
86.9 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Arkansas average
C-
City profile score · Ward, AR
52/100
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.
Household income C
$78,841
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
21.7%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime F
281 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate F
14.3%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Ward profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 97/100 (A+) · 86.9 index
Household income: 58/100 (C) · $78,841
Bachelor's+ share: 39/100 (F) · 21.7%
Violent crime: 36/100 (F) · 281 /100k
Poverty rate: 24/100 (F) · 14.3%
Where Ward sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Ward'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 - Ward highlighted among 27 peers.Read the chart values
Ward, AR (this city): home $182,100, crime 1,351/100k
Chickasaw, AL : home $110,300, crime 2,586/100k
Lebanon, KY : home $130,100, crime 1,122/100k
Nolanville, TX : home $179,800, crime 798/100k
De Queen, AR : home $108,500, crime 1,934/100k
Alma, AR : home $197,200, crime 1,487/100k
Cave Springs, AR : home $431,300, crime 352/100k
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 Ward compare to other US cities?
Here's how Ward stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income60% higher than other cities
Home value37% pricier than other cities
Median rent3% pricier than other cities
Safety51% 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, Ward ranks #58 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 Ward 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 Ward near the bottom of Arkansas's cities
Among the 524 Arkansas cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Ward ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Ward only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#52 of 495
89th percentile in Arkansas
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 524
0th percentile in Arkansas
Median Home Value
#78 of 482
84th percentile in Arkansas
Poverty Rate
#235 of 524
55th percentile in Arkansas
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#106 of 524
79th 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
60th percentile nationally for median household income · 51st percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Ward's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Ward'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 Ward's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$182,100Among the most affordablemore affordable than 63% 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
Ward's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.3×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#3,005 of 15,516
More affordable than 81% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,774 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.3×, Ward sits in the affordable band:
national rank #3,005 of 15,516 and #2,774 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
$78,841Ward, AR median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Ward, 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 Ward, AR.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)21.7%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)14.3%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)64.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
6,367
Median Income
$78,841
Median Home Value
$182,100
Median Age
30.0
Poverty Rate
14.3%
Labor force participation
64.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
21.7%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1350.6
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
281.4
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1069.2
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
1
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Ward's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
6,169 residents
2021
6,426 residents
2022
6,706 residents
2023
6,922 residents
2024
7,107 residents
2025
7,258 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Slowing
Total Permits (2024)
68
housing units authorized
Single-Family
56
detached homes
Multifamily
12
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
10.7
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
81
81
0
$7.1M
2020
115
115
0
$9.8M
2021
122
114
8
$14.8M
2022
86
86
0
$12.2M
2023
90
72
18
$11.8M
2024
68
56
12
$9.0M
Permit volume decreased 16% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
77.5%
Carpool
11.1%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.3%
Work from Home
11.1%
Based on 3,060 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 Ward. 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 Ward 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 Ward sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Ward 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.