Living in Waldo, 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 Waldo to say.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Waldo 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 townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Magnolia High School, about 7 miles away.
A hospital close bySpringhill Medical Center in Springhill, about 25 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityDallas is about 205 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 Waldo 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

Home prices since then: Up 9.8%Columbia County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income: $40,500U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill: $353 a yearArkansas: $1,040
Homes built before 1940: 8%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 8%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 12%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 9.8% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Arkansas outside metro areas, not Waldo 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: 1,1002020: 1,148
Median age: 44.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 25%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 16%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 5%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 1%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: Arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (11%)
Unemployment rate: 4%U.S.: 5%
Work from home: 2%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 24%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Springhill Medical Center, Springhill, LA, about 25 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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 Waldo itself. The nearest public high school is Magnolia High School, about 7 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: 29%U.S.: 76%

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: 31°F
July average high: 92°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 76 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 58 a year
Rain and melted snow: 56.3 inches a year
Snow: 2 inches a year
Elevation: 357 feet

Weather station: Magnolia (9 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

Springhill Medical CenterEmergency room25

Bossier City, LACity of 63,00061

Dallas, TXMetro of 8.5 million205

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: Springhill Medical Center, Bossier City, Dallas.

Columbia 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

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site28 miles

Read about Waldo's history on Wikipedia.

Know Waldo?

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

Magnolia, AR10,700 people, 7 miles
Stamps, AR1,200 people, 12 miles
Springhill, LA4,400 people, 26 miles
Hope, AR8,400 people, 28 miles
Haynesville, LA1,900 people, 28 miles
Camden, AR10,100 people, 30 miles

Smaller places

McNeil, AR363 people, 5 miles
Buckner, AR150 people, 8 miles
Willisville, AR146 people, 11 miles
Stephens, AR749 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.