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Towns / Arkansas

Rockwell, Arkansas

Rockwell is an unincorporated community of about 4,000 people in Garland County, Arkansas, in the Hot Springs area. 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 4.6 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 185 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Hot Springs

Population
3,986
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$289,800
Garland County prices up 17% since 2022
Household income
$63,500
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Hot Springs area
85.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
4 miles
Hot Springs, AR
To Memphis
185 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 14.3% below the U.S. average in the Hot Springs metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.6 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 Hot Springs World Class High School, about 4 miles away.
  • A hospital close byCHI St. Vincent Hospital Hot Springs in Hot Springs, about 4 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityMemphis is about 185 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 Rockwell 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

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Rockwell runs into the built-up area around Hot Springs (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

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
$289,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 17%Garland County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,009 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$63,500U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
66%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,751 a yearArkansas: $1,040
Homes built before 1940
4%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
11%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
17%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
85.7U.S. average = 100 (the Hot Springs 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 17% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Hot Springs metro area, not Rockwell 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
3,986The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
37.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
22%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
30%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
30%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
2%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 (24%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (19%); retail (18%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
21 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
9%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
12%U.S.: 12%

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 4 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 Rockwell itself. The nearest public high school is Hot Springs World Class 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
85%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
99%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
32°F
July average high
93°F
Days 90°F or hotter
77 a year
Nights at or below freezing
59 a year
Rain and melted snow
58 inches a year
Snow
1 inches a year
Elevation
442 feet

Weather station: Hot Springs 1 NNE (6 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: CHI St. Vincent Hospital Hot Springs, Little Rock, Memphis.

Garland County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, 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:

  • Hot Springs National Park3 miles
  • Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site51 miles

Read about Rockwell's history on Wikipedia.

Know Rockwell?

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

  • Lake Hamilton, AR (unincorporated)2,127 people, 4 miles
  • Mountain Pine, AR586 people, 8 miles
  • Pearcy, AR (unincorporated)363 people, 9 miles
  • Diamondhead, AR893 people, 10 miles
  • Jones Mills, AR (unincorporated)230 people, 13 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.