Living in Glenwood, Arkansas: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 17% below the U.S. average in the parts of Arkansas outside metro areas.
More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Glenwood to say.
A safer neighborhood5 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.5 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 15.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Centerpoint High School, about 3 miles away.
A hospital close byCHI St. Vincent Hospital Hot Springs in Hot Springs, about 28 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityTulsa is about 183 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 Glenwood 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: $132,500U.S.: $332,700
Typical rent, with utilities: $664 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Homes owned by the people living in them: 56%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $800 a yearArkansas: $1,040
Homes built before 1940: 9%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 8%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 3%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 83U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Arkansas outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Arkansas outside metro areas, not Glenwood 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: 2,0162020: 2,061
Median age: 35.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 19%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 15%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 11%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 (22%); construction (16%); manufacturing (15%)
Unemployment rate: 1%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 18 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 2%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: CHI St. Vincent Hospital Hot Springs, Hot Springs, AR, about 28 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

There are no public schools inside Glenwood itself. The nearest public high school is Centerpoint High School, about 3 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.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 59%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 81%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: 28°F
July average high: 90°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 46 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 90 a year
Rain and melted snow: 60.4 inches a year
Snow: 2 inches a year
Elevation: 600 feet

Weather stations: Mt Ida 3 SE (15 miles away) and Glenwood 4 NNE (4 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

CHI St. Vincent Hospital Hot SpringsEmergency room28

Little Rock, ARCity of 206,00072

Tulsa, OKMetro of 1.1 million183

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: CHI St. Vincent Hospital Hot Springs, Little Rock, Tulsa.

Pike County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 9, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Hot Springs National Park26 miles
President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site46 miles

Read about Glenwood's history on Wikipedia.

Know Glenwood?

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

Mount Ida, AR1,000 people, 16 miles
Murfreesboro, AR1,400 people, 20 miles
Rockwell, AR4,000 people, 24 miles
Piney, AR4,500 people, 25 miles
Hot Springs, AR38,000 people, 29 miles
Arkadelphia, AR9,900 people, 30 miles

Smaller places

Amity, AR674 people, 6 miles
Kirby, AR (unincorporated)579 people, 9 miles
Norman, AR307 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.