The book's checklist
- Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 14.1% below the U.S. average in the Fort Smith metro area.
- More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
- A safer neighborhood17 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 3.1 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 12.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
- Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Lavaca High School, about 6 miles away.
- A hospital close byMercy Hospital Fort Smith in Fort Smith, about 5 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
- Within reach of a big cityTulsa is about 107 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.
A check means Barling meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.
What kind of town
Barling runs into the built-up area around Fort Smith (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.
Boom town. The population is up 14% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.
The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.
For a lifetime
Homes and money
- Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
- $140,000U.S.: $332,700
- Home prices since then
- Up 22%Sebastian County, 2022 to 2025
- Typical rent, with utilities
- $1,128 a monthU.S.: $1,413
- Typical household income
- $54,387U.S.: $80,734
- Homes owned by the people living in them
- 72%U.S.: 65%
- Typical property tax bill
- $1,143 a yearArkansas: $1,040
- Homes built before 1940
- 0%U.S.: 12%
- Homes built since 2010
- 18%U.S.: 11%
- Vacation and seasonal homes
- 0%U.S.: 3%
- Everyday prices
- 85.9U.S. average = 100 (the Fort Smith metro area)
Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 22% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Fort Smith metro area, not Barling alone. Check current listings before you budget.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.
The people
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 5,4522020: 4,791
- Median age
- 42.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
- Age 65 and older
- 20%U.S.: 17%
- Under 18
- 18%U.S.: 22%
- Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
- 21%U.S.: 36%
- Moved here from another county or state in the past year
- 7%U.S.: 6%
- College students
- 7%share of all residents
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Work
- Biggest lines of work
- Manufacturing (25%); schools, health care and social services (17%); professional and business services (15%)
- Unemployment rate
- 2%U.S.: 5%
- Average commute
- 18 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
- Work from home
- 9%U.S.: 15%
- Below the poverty line
- 15%U.S.: 12%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Health care
Nearest emergency room: Mercy Hospital Fort Smith, Fort Smith, AR, about 5 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.
Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.
Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.
Schools
1 public school in Barling, run by Fort Smith School District. The nearest public high school is Lavaca High School, about 6 miles away.
Colleges in or next to town: Arkansas Colleges of Health Education (under 1,000 students).
See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Arkansas's school report card.
Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.
Internet
- Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
- 64%U.S.: 76%
- Homes with any internet subscription
- 88%U.S.: 91%
Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Weather
- January average low
- 30°F
- July average high
- 94°F
- Days 90°F or hotter
- 78 a year
- Nights at or below freezing
- 63 a year
- Rain and melted snow
- 47.3 inches a year
- Snow
- 3 inches a year
- Elevation
- 398 feet
Weather station: Ft Smith Rgnl Ap (5 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.
Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.
Getting around
Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Mercy Hospital Fort Smith, Fort Smith, Tulsa.
Sebastian County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).
For a day
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
National Park Service sites within about an hour:
- Fort Smith National Historic Site9 miles
Campus life. Check Arkansas Colleges of Health Education's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.
Read about Barling's history on Wikipedia.
Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.
Nearby
Straight-line miles.
Small towns
- Lavaca, AR2,500 people, 5 miles
- Kibler, AR1,000 people, 7 miles
- Greenwood, AR9,800 people, 9 miles
- Arkoma, OK1,900 people, 10 miles
- Alma, AR6,100 people, 12 miles
- Pocola, OK4,700 people, 12 miles
Smaller places
- Central City, AR469 people, 2 miles
- Bonanza, AR603 people, 11 miles
- Hackett, AR857 people, 12 miles
- Dyer, AR807 people, 14 miles
- Rudy, AR131 people, 14 miles
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
- Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
- National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
- National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
- U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
- National Park Service, park unit boundaries
- USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas
Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.