Living in Marmaduke, 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 moneyA typical home costs 2.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood7 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 5.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 5.6 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
A hospital close byArkansas Methodist Medical Center in Paragould, about 11 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityMemphis is about 78 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 Marmaduke 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: $112,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 11%Greene County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $748 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $51,250U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill: $672 a yearArkansas: $1,040
Homes built since 2010: 9%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 11% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Arkansas outside metro areas, not Marmaduke 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: 1,2542020: 1,213
Median age: 37.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 22%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 24%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: 9%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: Manufacturing (19%); retail (15%)
Unemployment rate: 1%U.S.: 5%
Work from home: 1%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Arkansas Methodist Medical Center, Paragould, AR, about 11 miles away. It's a general hospital. 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

2 public schools in Marmaduke, run by Marmaduke 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.

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: 51.7 inches a year
Snow: 2 inches a year
Elevation: 290 feet

Weather station: Paragould 1S (13 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

Arkansas Methodist Medical CenterEmergency room11

Jonesboro, ARCity of 83,00030

Memphis, TNMetro of 1.3 million78

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: Arkansas Methodist Medical Center, Jonesboro, Memphis.

Greene 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Ozark National Scenic Riverways53 miles

Read about Marmaduke's history on Wikipedia.

Know Marmaduke?

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

Rector, AR1,800 people, 7 miles
Oak Grove Heights, AR1,200 people, 8 miles
Paragould, AR31,000 people, 12 miles
Senath, MO1,500 people, 13 miles
Piggott, AR3,500 people, 17 miles
Corning, AR3,100 people, 19 miles

Smaller places

Lafe, AR419 people, 7 miles
Cardwell, MO529 people, 11 miles
Arbyrd, MO387 people, 12 miles
Greenway, AR171 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.