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North Crossett, Arkansas

North Crossett is an unincorporated community of about 2,600 people in Ashley County, Arkansas. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. A typical home costs about 2.1 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, Memphis, is about 175 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
2,556
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$70,100
Ashley County prices up 5.8% since 2022
Household income
$32,917
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Arkansas
83
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
3 miles
Crossett, AR
To Memphis
175 mi
straight line

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 2.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Crossett High School, about 4 miles away.
  • A hospital close byAshley County Medical Center in Crossett, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityMemphis is about 175 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 North Crossett 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
$70,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 5.8%Ashley County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$762 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$32,917U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
64%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$450 a yearArkansas: $1,040
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
9%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
15%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 5.8% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Arkansas outside metro areas, not North Crossett 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, 2020-2024 Census survey
2,556The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
39.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
19%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
26%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
7%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
0%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 (22%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (11%)
Work from home
6%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Ashley County Medical Center, Crossett, AR, about 3 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Morehouse General Hospital, Bastrop, LA, about 28 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

There are no public schools inside North Crossett itself. The nearest public high school is Crossett High School, about 4 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
65%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
87%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
34°F
July average high
95°F
Days 90°F or hotter
79 a year
Nights at or below freezing
66 a year
Rain and melted snow
56.7 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
159 feet

Weather station: Crossett 2 SSE (4 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

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: Ashley County Medical Center, Bossier City, Memphis.

Ashley County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 7, 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:

  • Poverty Point National Monument47 miles

Read about North Crossett's history on Wikipedia.

Know North Crossett?

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

  • West Crossett, AR (unincorporated)1,413 people, 5 miles
  • Fountain Hill, AR102 people, 14 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.