Living in Bono, Arkansas: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 14.1% below the U.S. average in the Jonesboro metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood6 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 19.7 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Westside High School, about 4 miles away.
A hospital close bySt. Bernards Medical Center in Jonesboro, about 7 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityMemphis is about 73 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 Bono 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

Boom town. The population is up 18% 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: $162,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 11%Craighead County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $917 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $56,098U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 55%U.S.: 65%
Homes built before 1940: 1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 25%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 85.9U.S. average = 100 (the Jonesboro 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 11% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Jonesboro metro area, not Bono 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: 2,8582020: 2,432
Median age: 31 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 6%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 33%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 20%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 5%U.S.: 6%
College students: 6%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: Schools, health care and social services (27%); retail (17%); manufacturing (11%)
Average commute: 28 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 7%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 17%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: St. Bernards Medical Center, Jonesboro, AR, about 7 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 1 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

There are no public schools inside Bono itself. The nearest public high school is Westside High School, about 4 miles away.

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.

Weather

January average low: 27°F
July average high: 90°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 60 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 75 a year
Rain and melted snow: 52 inches a year
Snow: 4 inches a year
Elevation: 263 feet

Weather station: Jonesboro 2 NE (9 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

St. Bernards Medical CenterEmergency room7

Jonesboro, ARCity of 83,0009

Memphis, TNMetro of 1.3 million73

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: St. Bernards Medical Center, Jonesboro, Memphis.

Craighead 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

Read about Bono's history on Wikipedia.

Know Bono?

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

Brookland, AR4,700 people, 12 miles
Hoxie, AR2,600 people, 13 miles
Walnut Ridge, AR5,500 people, 15 miles
Bay, AR1,800 people, 18 miles
Paragould, AR31,000 people, 19 miles
Lake City, AR2,800 people, 20 miles

Smaller places

Sedgwick, AR157 people, 6 miles
Egypt, AR108 people, 9 miles
Cash, AR280 people, 11 miles
Walcott, AR (unincorporated)315 people, 12 miles

Sources

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.