Living in Leachville, 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 Leachville to say.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Leachville 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 town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Buffalo Island Central High School, about 6 miles away.
A hospital close byChicot Memorial Medical Center in Lake Village, about 13 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityMemphis is about 58 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 Leachville 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

Leachville has lost about 7% of its people since 2020. 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: $111,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 22%Mississippi County, 2022 to 2025
Homes owned by the people living in them: 66%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $748 a yearArkansas: $1,040
Homes built before 1940: 2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 10%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%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: county prices have moved up 22% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Arkansas outside metro areas, not Leachville 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: 1,8832020: 2,035
Median age: 43.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 22%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: 6%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: Manufacturing (16%); retail (12%)
Unemployment rate: 1%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 23 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 3%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 27%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Chicot Memorial Medical Center, Lake Village, AR, about 13 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: Arkansas Methodist Medical Center, Paragould, AR, about 17 miles away. Medicare gives it 2 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

1 public school in Leachville, run by Buffalo Is. Central Sch. Dist.. The nearest public high school is Buffalo Island Central High School, about 6 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 any internet subscription: 82%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: 52 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 63 a year
Rain and melted snow: 54 inches a year
Snow: 4 inches a year
Elevation: 234 feet

Weather stations: Paragould 1S (16 miles away) and Hornersville (11 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

Chicot Memorial Medical CenterEmergency room13

Jonesboro, ARCity of 83,00025

Memphis, TNMetro of 1.3 million58

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: Chicot Memorial Medical Center, Jonesboro, Memphis.

Mississippi County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, 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.

Read about Leachville's history on Wikipedia.

Know Leachville?

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

Monette, AR1,700 people, 5 miles
Manila, AR3,800 people, 5 miles
Caraway, AR1,100 people, 11 miles
Lake City, AR2,800 people, 13 miles
Senath, MO1,500 people, 16 miles
Gosnell, AR2,700 people, 16 miles

Smaller places

Black Oak, AR261 people, 8 miles
Cardwell, MO529 people, 10 miles
Arbyrd, MO387 people, 10 miles
Hornersville, MO500 people, 12 miles
Dell, AR181 people, 13 miles
Etowah, AR237 people, 14 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.