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Arkansas

State-to-state migration of people and income, 20222023 filing years

At a glance (2023)

Cost of living
87
13% below the U.S. average
Median home value
$175,300
national $303,400
Home prices, 5 years
+49.7%
over the 5 years to 2023
Monthly rent
$914
national $1,348
Homeownership
66%
national 65%
Unemployment
3.2%
national 3.6%
Household income
$58,773
national $78,538
Median age
38.4 yrs
national 38.7

The cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. The median home is valued at $175,300 (nominal). Home prices have risen about 50% over the five years to 2023. Median rent is about $914 a month. Unemployment averaged 3.2% in 2023 (national 3.6%). Median household income is $58,773. These figures describe all residents, not just tax filers, come from separate sources than the migration data on this page, and do not indicate why anyone moved.

Between the 2022 and 2023 filing years, Arkansas saw a net gain of 5,213 tax-filing households and a net gain of 11,246 individuals. Against a population of about 3,067,732, that is a net inflow of about 3.7 per 1,000 residents. On net, the area gained $445.8M in associated adjusted gross income (AGI, nominal dollars). The largest inflow, about 7,451 households, came from Texas; the largest outflow, about 6,498 households, went to Texas. In the prior (2022) filing year, the area saw a net gain of 14,641 individuals. These figures cover federal income tax filers only and do not indicate why people moved.

Net income (AGI)
+$445.8M
nominal dollars
Net households
+5,213
tax returns
Net people
+11,246
exemptions

+3.7 net people per 1,000 residents (population 3,067,732)

Income (AGI) in and out

Moved in$2.4B
Moved out$1.9B
Net +$445.8M (nominal)
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Arkansas counties

Net migration by county. Hover for figures; click a county to open it.

Net outNet in(AGI $)
Hover an area to trace its top 5 inbound (in) and outbound (out) moves.
Net income (AGI) that moved in minus out, in nominal dollars (not adjusted for inflation).Net tax returns (filing households) that moved in minus out.Net people per 1,000 residents, so larger and smaller areas compare fairly.
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Top origin states

  1. 1Texas7,451$498.9M
  2. 2Missouri3,265$175.3M
  3. 3Oklahoma2,953$133.7M
  4. 4California2,736$188.5M
  5. 5Tennessee1,960$117.7M
  6. 6Florida1,933$116.3M
  7. 7Louisiana1,423$78.5M
  8. 8Colorado1,100$83M
  9. 9Illinois1,059$80.8M
  10. 10Mississippi1,033$51.9M
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Top destination states

  1. 1Texas6,498$406.7M
  2. 2Missouri3,143$153.1M
  3. 3Oklahoma2,929$137.9M
  4. 4Tennessee1,839$99.7M
  5. 5Florida1,743$168.4M
  6. 6California1,313$84.4M
  7. 7Louisiana1,063$51.3M
  8. 8Illinois882$49.9M
  9. 9Colorado875$53.1M
  10. 10Georgia824$50.9M
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Churn by state · both directions at once

The biggest two-way exchanges of filing households, 20222023. Moved in and moved out are gross one-way counts; net is the difference. Click a column to sort.

Texas7,4516,498+953+$92.2M
Missouri3,2653,143+122+$22.1M
Oklahoma2,9532,929+24-$4.2M
California2,7361,313+1,423+$104.1M
Tennessee1,9601,839+121+$17.9M
Florida1,9331,743+190-$52.1M
Louisiana1,4231,063+360+$27.3M
Colorado1,100875+225+$29.9M
Illinois1,059882+177+$30.9M
Mississippi1,033793+240+$12.4M
Georgia853824+29-$236K
Arizona859582+277+$25.3M

Counts are filing households (IRS returns), matching the lists above; income is nominal AGI. A dash means the IRS published only one direction of that exchange (small flows are suppressed), so no net is computed.

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Net migration by year

Net 2012–2023: +$1.4B (+53,299 people)
20122023
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Net AGI and net people by year (nominal dollars)
YearNet AGINet people
2012-$93.5M-1,195
2013-$41.1M-1,654
2014-$72.7M-4,489
2015-$81.3M-1,545
2016-$39.5M+1,028
2017+$75.5M+5,110
2018-$18M+2,431
2019-$43.9M+2,253
2020+$249.9M+9,763
2021+$539.1M+15,710
2022+$467.7M+14,641
2023+$445.8M+11,246
Migration in context

How big is this move, relative to the state?

In the 20222023 filing year, about 11,246 more people moved into Arkansas than left (counting tax filers and their dependents) — a net gain of about $445.8M in income (nominal) — in a state of 3,069,856 people.

Population
3,069,856
Census 2023 estimate
Net migration rate
+3.7
net people per 1,000 residents
A town of 10,000 would net about +37 people.
Net income per resident
+$145
nominal dollars
+$445.8M total across 3,069,856 residents.

The rate lets you compare Arkansas with a stateof any size: it’s the net flow divided by population. The IRS counts tax filers; population counts all residents, so read the rate as a scale indicator, not a literal share of people.

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Components of population change · 2023 (Census)

Where the state’s overall change came from. Census counts all residents; the IRS migration above is one slice of the domestic-migration component.

Births
+35,330
Deaths
-36,406
Net domestic migration
+17,825
Net international migration
+5,592
Total change
+22,427

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program. Figures are people, not tax filers.

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Income & cost of living

What a dollar is worth here

Prices around Arkansas run about 13% below the national average. In plain terms: $100 spent here buys about what $115 buys in the average American community. The figures below apply that to income, each compared to the U.S. average of $70,002 per person.

Income per person
$56,547
what people here earn (BEA 2023, nominal)
19% below the U.S. average
Price level
86.8
100 = U.S. average prices (BEA price parity)
everyday costs about 13.2% lower than average
What that income buys
$65,139
local income restated at U.S.-average prices
7% below the U.S. average
Cheaper than U.S. avgU.S. average (100)Pricier

Price parity shown at the state level (BEA does not publish a single figure below the metro level).

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Where the cost comes from · price parity by category

Index where 100 = U.S. average for that category. Housing is usually what separates one place from another.

Housing & rents56.7
Goods93.1
Utilities81.9
Other services95.7

Housing is measured from rents (including an estimated rental value for owner-occupied homes), so a run-up in purchase prices shows here only as it reaches rents. Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Covers all residents, a separate universe from the IRS filer income above. How the data works.

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Who lives here

The people of Arkansas

American Community Survey, 2019–2023 (a 5-year average of all residents, not just tax filers).

Median age
38.4
years
Median household income
$58,773
per household (ACS 2019–2023, nominal)
25% below the U.S. median
College degree
25%
adults 25+ with a bachelor's or higher
Poverty rate
16.0%
residents below the poverty line
Average commute
22 min
mean travel time to work
Broadband at home
85%
households with any broadband
Race and ethnicity (share of residents)
White 68%Hispanic 9%Black 15%Asian 2%Other 7%

White, Black, and Asian counts are people who are not Hispanic or Latino; Hispanic or Latino can be of any race. Shares are rounded and may not total 100.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Covers all residents, a separate universe from the IRS filer data. A 5-year estimate is an average over 2019–2023; compare years at least five apart, since consecutive windows overlap. How the data works.

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Housing · what it costs to live here (ACS 2019–2023)

Median home value
$175,300
owner-occupied homes
42% below the U.S. median
Median rent
$914
gross rent per month
32% below the U.S. median
Homeownership
66%
of occupied homes are owner-occupied
Home-price appreciation · FHFA index, 2023
Past year
+8.7%
price change, 2022 to 2023
Past 5 years
+50%
price change, 2018 to 2023

A repeat-sales index (how much the same homes changed in price), so it tracks the market over time rather than the current level. Source: Federal Housing Finance Agency, annual all-transactions HPI; the county series is FHFA’s developmental index.

New home construction · building permits, 2023
12,842new housing units authorized in 2023
Single-family 73%Multifamily 27%

Units authorized by residential building permits (new supply), summed from counties for the state and U.S. Permits are authorizations, not completions. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.

Home value is what owners estimate their homes are worth, not recent sale prices. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2019–2023), nominal dollars. How the data works.

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Local economy & risk

Jobs and natural hazards

Unemployment rate
3.2%
BLS 2023 annual average
Labor force
1,386,192
1,342,482 employed
Disaster declarations
3
major federal, 2023
most common: Winter Storm

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (LAUS) and FEMA. A disaster declaration marks federal assistance eligibility, not damage severity, and says nothing about why anyone moved. How the data works.

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Unemployment now
3.7%
May 2026 · ▼ 0.1 points vs May 2025
January 2024May 2026

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (LAUS). Monthly unemployment for this state, not seasonally adjusted. Updated every month, so it moves faster than the annual average above. How the data works.

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Who’s moving by income

Net migration by income bracket

Tax-filing households that moved into Arkansas minus those that left, by the adjusted gross income they reported, 20222023. Positive means more arrived than left at that income level.

$1–$10k
+451
In 4,065Out 3,614+$2M AGI
$10k–$25k
+739
In 8,938Out 8,199+$12.5M AGI
$25k–$50k
+1,045
In 9,618Out 8,573+$39.1M AGI
$50k–$75k
+572
In 4,868Out 4,296+$34.1M AGI
$75k–$100k
+640
In 3,066Out 2,426+$55.6M AGI
$100k–$200k
+1,256
In 4,576Out 3,320+$177M AGI
$200k+
+423
In 1,739Out 1,316+$132.8M AGI

Among the highest earners ($200k+), Arkansas ranks #17 of 51 states for net household migration (+423).

Source: IRS Statistics of Income, state-level gross migration file (returns with negative AGI are excluded, so this won’t exactly match the totals above). Income is what filers reported, not a reason anyone moved. Compare all states by income bracket. How the data works.

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Goods trade

What Arkansas ships and receives

Physical goods shipped between Arkansas and other states, 2022. This is freight, not the migration of people or income shown above.

$110.6B
Ships to other states
+56% since 2017
$116.5B
Receives from states
+59% since 2017
-$5.9B
Net balance

Top goods shipped out

Mixed freight
$24.9B
Meat, poultry, fish, seafood, and their preparations
$14.6B
Electronic and other electrical equipment and components, and office equipment
$13.9B
Machinery
$12.0B
Base metal in primary or semi-finished forms and in finished basic shapes
$11.4B
Motorized and other vehicles (includes parts)
$8.2B

Top goods received

Mixed freight
$23.3B
Pharmaceutical products
$15.6B
Meat, poultry, fish, seafood, and their preparations
$9.0B
Motorized and other vehicles (includes parts)
$8.0B
Machinery
$8.0B
Plastics and rubber
$7.0B

Biggest trading partners (both ways)

Goods trade runs in both directions: states swap different goods, so a partner is often near the top of both columns. Net is ships minus receives (positive means Arkansas ships more to that partner than it gets back).

PartnerShips toReceivesNetTotal
Texas$18.4B$17.7B+$688M$36.1B
Tennessee$7.7B$16.1B-$8.4B$23.8B
Missouri$8.2B$12.4B-$4.2B$20.6B
California$7.9B$9.1B-$1.2B$17.0B
Oklahoma$6.4B$5.3B+$1.1B$11.7B
Georgia$4.3B$4.0B+$300M$8.2B
Louisiana$4.6B$3.5B+$1.2B$8.1B
Illinois$3.6B$4.2B-$624M$7.8B

Goods shipped every five years by the Census Commodity Flow Survey (a sample, so figures are estimates and the smallest flows are withheld). Value is nominal. The totals and partner table above count trade between Arkansas and other states; the goods lists count everything the state ships or receives, including within-state shipments. Compare all states. How the data works.

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Taxes the state collects

What Arkansas collects in taxes

Total state taxes
$12.8B
FY 2023, nominal
Per resident
$4,156
total state taxes ÷ population
Largest categories (share of total)
General sales & gross receipts$5B · 39%
Individual income tax$2.9B · 23%
Property taxes$1.4B · 11%
Corporation net income tax$1.1B · 8%
Motor fuels sales tax$606.1M · 5%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State Government Tax Collections. This is what the state government collected (not local taxes), not a measure of any individual’s tax burden. How the data works.

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How Arkansas has voted. Certified returns, popular vote only. This is a separate dataset from the migration figures on this page.

President, 19762024

YearDemocraticRepublicanOtherMarginTotal
2024396,905759,24126,530R +30.61,182,676
2020423,932760,64734,490R +27.61,219,069
2016380,494684,87264,530R +26.91,129,896
2012394,409647,74427,315R +23.71,069,468
2008422,310638,01726,290R +19.91,086,617
2004468,631572,77012,293R +9.91,053,694
2000422,768472,94026,073R +5.4921,781
1996475,171325,41683,675D +16.9884,262
1992505,823337,324107,506D +17.7950,653
1988349,237466,57811,923R +14.2827,738
1984338,646534,77410,986R +22.2884,406
1980398,041403,16436,377R +0.6837,582
1976498,604267,9031,028D +30.1767,535

U.S. Senate races · all states →

YearWinnerDemocraticRepublicanOtherMargin
2022John Boozman280,187592,43728,682R +34.6
2020Tom Cotton793,871399,390
2016John Boozman400,602661,98443,866R +23.6
2014Tom Cotton334,174478,81934,007R +17.1
2010John Boozman288,156451,61839,807R +21.0
2008Mark L. Pryor804,678207,076
2004Blanche L. Lincoln580,973458,036212D +11.8
2002Mark Pryor433,386370,735D +7.8

U.S. House seats won · district maps →

2024
D 0 · R 4
2022
D 0 · R 4
2020
D 0 · R 4
2018
D 0 · R 4
2016
D 0 · R 4
2014
D 0 · R 4
2012
D 0 · R 4
2010
D 1 · R 3
2008
D 3 · R 1
2006
D 3 · R 1
2004
D 3 · R 1
2002
D 3 · R 1
2000
D 3 · R 1

2024 results by county

Republican wonDemocratic wonIndependent / other
Which party received the most votes, as a solid color.Winning margin as a share of all votes cast.Change in margin since 2020, in percentage points.Total votes cast, all candidates.
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Source: MIT Election Data and Science Lab county returns (CC0). Margins are the popular-vote gap as a share of all votes cast.

Counties in Arkansas (75)

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