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Towns / Arkansas

Earle, Arkansas

Earle is a small town of about 1,700 people in Crittenden County, Arkansas. It has lost about 6% of its people since 2020. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Memphis, is about 30 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,721
down 5.8% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$87,900
Crittenden County prices up 17% since 2022
Prices, Memphis area
92.2
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
18 miles
West Memphis, AR
To Memphis
30 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 7.8% below the U.S. average in the Memphis metro area.
  • More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Earle to say.
  • A safer neighborhood5 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.9 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 11.6 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byBaptist Memorial Hospital-Crittenden, INC in West Memphis, about 18 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityMemphis is about 30 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 Earle 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

Worth a closer look

Earle has lost about 6% of its people since 2020, and about 30% of homes stand empty (not counting vacation homes or homes for sale or rent). A shrinking town can mean bargains, but visit Main Street on a weekday and ask what's closed lately.

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
$87,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 17%Crittenden County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$583 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Homes owned by the people living in them
36%U.S.: 65%
Homes built before 1940
7%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
0%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
92.2U.S. average = 100 (the Memphis 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 17% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Memphis metro area, not Earle 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
1,7212020: 1,827
Median age
32.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
18%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
29%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
14%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
3%U.S.: 6%
College students
8%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
Retail (19%); schools, health care and social services (17%)
Average commute
31 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
9%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Baptist Memorial Hospital-Crittenden, INC, West Memphis, AR, about 18 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

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

2 public schools in Earle, run by Earle 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
33%U.S.: 76%

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
33°F
July average high
91°F
Days 90°F or hotter
66 a year
Nights at or below freezing
58 a year
Rain and melted snow
55.9 inches a year
Snow
2 inches a year
Elevation
211 feet

Weather stations: West Memphis Muni Ap (16 miles away) and W Memphis (19 miles away, rain and snow). 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: Baptist Memorial Hospital-Crittenden, Memphis.

Crittenden County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

Read about Earle's history on Wikipedia.

Know Earle?

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

  • Parkin, AR766 people, 5 miles
  • Jennette, AR113 people, 8 miles
  • Crawfordsville, AR443 people, 9 miles
  • Turrell, AR488 people, 13 miles
  • Gilmore, AR172 people, 14 miles
  • Clarkedale, AR326 people, 14 miles
  • Edmondson, AR240 people, 15 miles
  • Sunset, AR161 people, 15 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.