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Towns / Arkansas

Huntsville, Arkansas

Huntsville is a small town of about 3,600 people in Madison County, Arkansas. It's the county seat. It's growing fast: its population is up 24% since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.8 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 121 miles away as the crow flies.

Boom townCounty seat

Population
3,576
up 24% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$163,600
Madison County prices up 18% since 2022
Household income
$57,813
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Fayetteville area
91.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
21 miles
Eureka Springs, AR
To Tulsa
121 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 2.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Huntsville itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byEureka Springs Hospital Commission in Eureka Springs, about 21 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityTulsa is about 121 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 Huntsville 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 24% 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
$163,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 18%Madison County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$620 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$57,813U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
65%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$734 a yearArkansas: $1,040
Homes built before 1940
3%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
13%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%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 18% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro area, not Huntsville 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
3,5762020: 2,887
Median age
33.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
35%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
13%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
10%U.S.: 6%

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%); retail (16%); professional and business services (14%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
26 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
9%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
20%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Eureka Springs Hospital Commission, Eureka Springs, AR, about 21 miles away. It's a rural emergency hospital (24-hour emergency care and outpatient services, no overnight stays). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Northwest Medical Center-Springdale, Springdale, AR, about 23 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

4 public schools in Huntsville, run by Huntsville 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
58%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
84%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
88°F
Days 90°F or hotter
34 a year
Nights at or below freezing
67 a year
Rain and melted snow
55.6 inches a year
Snow
6 inches a year
Elevation
1,476 feet

Weather stations: Huntsville 1 SSW (2 miles away) and St Paul 1 E (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: Eureka Springs Hospital Commission, Fayetteville, Tulsa.

Madison 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

3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Huntsville Commercial Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Buffalo National River19 miles
  • Pea Ridge National Military Park28 miles
  • Wilson's Creek National Battlefield60 miles

Read about Huntsville's history on Wikipedia.

Know Huntsville?

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

  • Wesley, AR (unincorporated)233 people, 11 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.