The Town Files

The 25 Best Small Towns for First-Time Home Buyers in Arkansas

Ranked on The Town Files lifestyle rankings among 82 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in Arkansas. #1 is Piney, AR.

Map of the 25 towns12345678910111213141516171819202122232425
Numbers match the ranking.
The 25 Best Small Towns for First-Time Home Buyers in Arkansas1. Piney100th pct2. Elkins99th pct3. Walnut Ridge98th pct4. Cherokee Village97th pct5. Huntsville97th pct6. Gentry96th pct7. Prairie Grove95th pct8. Haskell94th pct9. Charleston94th pct10. Pea Ridge93rd pct11. Barling93rd pct12. McGehee92nd pct13. Paris90th pct14. Gravette87th pct15. Johnson85th pct16. Alexander84th pct17. Piggott82nd pct18. Brinkley81st pct19. Landmark79th pct20. Gibson78th pct21. Corning78th pct22. Lowell76th pct23. Fordyce75th pct24. Sheridan74th pct25. Shannon Hills72nd pct
  1. 25Shannon Hills, Arkansas

    Better for first-time buyers than 72% of Arkansas towns

    4,490 people · Saline County · median home $170,900 · income $71,318 · Jan low 31°F · 3 in snow

  2. 24Sheridan, Arkansas

    Better for first-time buyers than 74% of Arkansas towns

    4,920 people · Grant County · median home $187,700 · income $62,453 · Jan low 29°F · 3 in snow

  3. 23Fordyce, Arkansas

    Better for first-time buyers than 75% of Arkansas towns

    3,396 people · Dallas County · median home $92,600 · income $38,079 · Jan low 31°F · 1 in snow

  4. 22Lowell, Arkansas

    Better for first-time buyers than 76% of Arkansas towns

    9,839 people · Benton County · median home $284,200 · income $95,527 · Jan low 24°F · 10 in snow

  5. 21Corning, Arkansas

    Better for first-time buyers than 78% of Arkansas towns

    3,227 people · Clay County · median home $89,500 · income $50,408 · Jan low 28°F · 5 in snow

  6. 20Gibson, Arkansas

    Better for first-time buyers than 78% of Arkansas towns

    4,111 people · Pulaski County · median home $157,800 · income $66,496 · Jan low 32°F · 4 in snow

  7. 19Landmark, Arkansas

    Better for first-time buyers than 79% of Arkansas towns

    3,585 people · Pulaski County · median home $156,600 · income $53,788 · Jan low 31°F · 4 in snow

  8. 18Brinkley, Arkansas

    Better for first-time buyers than 81% of Arkansas towns

    2,700 people · Monroe County · median home $94,000 · income $38,996 · Jan low 31°F · 3 in snow

  9. 17Piggott, Arkansas

    Better for first-time buyers than 82% of Arkansas towns

    3,622 people · Clay County · median home $115,500 · income $44,468 · Jan low 27°F · 3 in snow

  10. 16Alexander, Arkansas

    Better for first-time buyers than 84% of Arkansas towns

    3,385 people · Saline County · median home $174,000 · income $57,250 · Jan low 31°F · 1 in snow

  11. 15Johnson, Arkansas

    Better for first-time buyers than 85% of Arkansas towns

    3,609 people · Washington County · median home $312,900 · income $95,844 · Jan low 27°F · 7 in snow

  12. 14Gravette, Arkansas

    Better for first-time buyers than 87% of Arkansas towns

    3,547 people · Benton County · median home $216,300 · income $68,214 · Jan low 29°F · 13 in snow

  13. 13Paris, Arkansas

    Better for first-time buyers than 90% of Arkansas towns

    3,176 people · Logan County · median home $123,200 · income $51,416 · Jan low 29°F · 2 in snow

  14. 12McGehee, Arkansas

    Better for first-time buyers than 92% of Arkansas towns

    3,849 people · Desha County · median home $98,800 · income $36,875 · Jan low 34°F · 2 in snow

  15. 11Barling, Arkansas

    Better for first-time buyers than 93% of Arkansas towns

    4,782 people · Sebastian County · median home $140,000 · income $54,387 · Jan low 30°F · 3 in snow

  16. 10Pea Ridge, Arkansas

    Better for first-time buyers than 93% of Arkansas towns

    6,559 people · Benton County · median home $297,500 · income $95,521 · Jan low 26°F · 10 in snow

  17. 9Charleston, Arkansas

    Better for first-time buyers than 94% of Arkansas towns

    2,588 people · Franklin County · median home $156,300 · income $56,600 · Jan low 28°F · 3 in snow

  18. 8Haskell, Arkansas

    Better for first-time buyers than 94% of Arkansas towns

    3,956 people · Saline County · median home $160,600 · income $85,758 · Jan low 31°F · 1 in snow

  19. 7Prairie Grove, Arkansas

    Better for first-time buyers than 95% of Arkansas towns

    7,045 people · Washington County · median home $256,000 · income $70,701 · Jan low 25°F · 7 in snow

  20. 6Gentry, Arkansas

    Better for first-time buyers than 96% of Arkansas towns

    3,790 people · Benton County · median home $186,100 · income $69,779 · Jan low 27°F · 11 in snow

  21. 5Huntsville, Arkansas

    Better for first-time buyers than 97% of Arkansas towns

    2,879 people · Madison County · median home $163,600 · income $57,813 · Jan low 30°F · 6 in snow

  22. 4Cherokee Village, Arkansas

    Better for first-time buyers than 97% of Arkansas towns

    4,780 people · Sharp County · median home $94,600 · income $37,326 · Jan low 26°F · 7 in snow

  23. 3Walnut Ridge, Arkansas

    Better for first-time buyers than 98% of Arkansas towns

    5,384 people · Lawrence County · median home $117,900 · income $45,027 · Jan low 28°F · 3 in snow

  24. 2Elkins, Arkansas

    Better for first-time buyers than 99% of Arkansas towns

    3,602 people · Washington County · median home $212,500 · income $81,789 · Jan low 25°F · 7 in snow

  25. 1Piney, Arkansas

    Better for first-time buyers than 100% of Arkansas towns

    5,238 people · Garland County · median home $134,400 · income $50,901 · Jan low 29°F · 1 in snow

Price vs ranking

Median home value vs ranking, Arkansas towns0255075100$70K$160K$250K$340K$431KMedian home valuePercentile
Orange squares are the 25 towns on this list; green dots are other towns on The Town Files in Arkansas.

More Arkansas rankings

Same ranking, other places

Methodology. We ranked 82 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in Arkansas (2020 Census population; towns with 2,500+ people have pages so far). Lifestyle measures are The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025), shown as percentiles. Only towns better than 60% of their peers on this measure qualify, so lists can be shorter than 25. Sources: