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Decatur, Arkansas

Decatur is a small town of about 1,900 people in Benton County, Arkansas. It has grown about 6% since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.5 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Tulsa, is about 82 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,893
up 5.8% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$157,600
Benton County prices up 22% since 2022
Household income
$45,179
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Fayetteville area
91.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
4 miles
Gravette, AR
To Tulsa
82 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8.6% below the U.S. average in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood9 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 5.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 14.1 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byOzarks Community Hospital of Gravette in Gravette, about 4 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityTulsa is about 82 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 Decatur 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.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$157,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 22%Benton County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$813 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$45,179U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
39%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$832 a yearArkansas: $1,040
Homes built before 1940
2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
17%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
91.4U.S. average = 100 (the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers 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 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro area, not Decatur 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
1,8932020: 1,789
Median age
36.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
13%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
9%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%U.S.: 6%
College students
5%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 (12%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
21 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
3%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
12%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Ozarks Community Hospital of Gravette, Gravette, AR, about 4 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Siloam Springs Regional Hospital, Siloam Springs, AR, about 11 miles away. 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

3 public schools in Decatur, run by Decatur School District.

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
46%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
29°F
July average high
92°F
Days 90°F or hotter
61 a year
Nights at or below freezing
78 a year
Rain and melted snow
48.6 inches a year
Snow
12 inches a year
Elevation
1,186 feet

Weather station: Gravette (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: Ozarks Community Hospital of Gravette, Bentonville, Tulsa.

Benton County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, 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:

  • Pea Ridge National Military Park23 miles
  • Wilson's Creek National Battlefield40 miles
  • George Washington Carver National Monument44 miles

Read about Decatur's history on Wikipedia.

Know Decatur?

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

Smaller places

  • Cherokee City, AR (unincorporated)369 people, 8 miles
  • Maysville, AR (unincorporated)110 people, 8 miles
  • Sulphur Springs, AR483 people, 9 miles
  • Colcord, OK758 people, 14 miles
  • Southwest City, MO969 people, 14 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. 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.