Latest Census city estimates released May 14, 2026 · Population as of July 1, 2025 · Next city estimates scheduled for May 2027. Release schedule
Little Rock, Arkansas population is 206,427 as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimate), ranking #120 nationally and #1 in Arkansas. Cost of living runs 11% below the U.S. average (BEA RPP 2024). This profile draws on 13 federal datasets covering population, housing, income, employment, climate, and risk.
206,427 people live in Little Rock as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025), the #120 largest U.S. city.
How big is Little Rock?
Little Rock covers 121.2 square miles of land and 3.0 square miles of water. Its population density is about 1,703 residents per square mile of land. Compare U.S. cities by land area →
Source detail: 2025 population
2025 population
Source agency
U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division
Dataset
Census PEP
Vintage / period
Vintage 2025 (Jul 1, 2025)
Native geography
Census PEP subcounty place records for the included city universe.
Transformation
Copied from POPESTIMATE2025, joined by Census GEOID, and used for ranks, filters, and city pages.
Known limit: Annual estimate, not a decennial count; each new PEP vintage can revise the prior series.
Population grew 1.9% from the April 2020 base to mid-2025.
Vintage 2025 · annual estimates
Recent history (V2025 series, 2020 base → 2025).
2020 base: 202,543 → 2025: 206,427 (+1.9%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2020 base
202,543
April 1, 2020
2020
202,616
July 1, 2020
2021
202,253
July 1, 2021
2022
203,671
July 1, 2022
2023
204,625
July 1, 2023
2024
206,014
July 1, 2024
2025
206,427
July 1, 2025
Earlier history (2010–2019, prior Census vintage)
These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2019 release — a separate, earlier methodology. They’re shown here as historical context only; the 2010 and 2019 values aren’t directly comparable to the 2020–2025 series above.
Population grew 1.7% from the July 2010 estimate to 2019 (V2019 — see seam note below).
Little Rock is the #120 largest of 19,483 U.S. cities and #1 in Arkansas.
▸Show the analyst detail (9 rows)
Measure
Value
Note
2020 base
202,543
April 1, 2020 census base
5-yr change
+3,884
2020 base → 2025; within V2025
5-yr change %
+1.9%
within V2025 only
1-yr change
+413
2024 → 2025 estimate
1-yr change %
+0.2%
within V2025 only
Density
1,703
people per sq mi, land only
Land area
121.2
sq mi (2025 Gazetteer)
U.S. rank by population
#120
of 19,483 cities
State rank by population
#1
of 501 in Arkansas
What is the median household income in Little Rock?
Same-period U.S. benchmarks: household income $80,734 ± $166; per-capita income $44,673 ± $122. Margins are at 90% confidence. Comparison badges describe point estimates; they are not significance tests.
Median household income is 22% below the U.S. median ($63,003 vs $80,734); 17.5% live in poverty, 5.0 points above the 12.5% U.S. estimate.
Median household income$63,003
US
Little Rock: $63,003 — 22% below the US median of $80,734.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with ACS income data; censored rows retained in the distribution
Little Rock
$63,003
United States
$80,734
Income and poverty estimates for Little Rock from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates (window 2020–2024). Every figure is shown with its 90% margin of error (MOE). Cells where the ± margin exceeds half the estimate are flagged "low precision." See methodology §12.
Measure
Estimate
± margin / note
Median household income
$63,003-22.0% vs US
±$2,303
Per capita income
$43,712-2.2% vs US
±$1,538
Population in poverty
17.5% ± 1.5 percentage points
share of population for whom poverty status is determined
Median home value is 29% below the U.S. median ($236,400 vs $332,700); median rent is 22% below ($1,106 vs $1,413); price-to-income ratio (3.8×) is roughly in line with the U.S. median (4.1×).
Median home value$236,400
US
Little Rock: $236,400 — 29% below the US median of $332,700.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with ACS home-value data; censored rows retained in the distribution
HUD 2-BR fair-market rent$1,147/mo
US
Little Rock: $1,147/mo — 6% above the US median of $1,077/mo.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with a HUD Fair Market Rent
Same-period U.S. benchmarks: home value $332,700 ± $236; gross rent $1,413 ± $2. Comparison badges describe estimates and do not establish statistical significance.
Measure
Estimate
± margin / note
Median value, owner-occupied units
$236,400-28.9% vs US
±$6,779
Median gross rent
$1,106-21.7% vs US
±$22
HUD Fair Market Rent, 2-BR (FY2026)
$1,147-3.6% vs US
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR HUD Metro FMR Area· 40th-percentile gross rent · HUD methodology
Owner-occupied share
53.5% ± 1.2 percentage points
of occupied housing units
Price-to-income ratio
3.8x± 0.17x approximate 90% MOE-8.9% vs US
median home value ÷ median household income · U.S. ratio: 4.1x
Rent-burdened (≥30% of income)
48.9% ± 3.1 percentage points-4.3% vs US
renters with a computed rent/income ratio · U.S. share: 51.1%
Severely rent-burdened (≥50%)
24.2% ± 2.3 percentage points-6.4% vs US
renters with a computed rent/income ratio · U.S. share: 25.9%
Poverty (Census SAIPE 2024, model-based), unemployment (BLS LAUS 2025 annual averages), and remote-work share (ACS 2020–2024) for Little Rock. Numbers are labeled at their native grain — place-grain when BLS publishes it, otherwise per-county. We do not compute population-weighted county averages. See methodology §13.
Measure
Value
Grain
Unemployment rate (annual avg)
4.1%
Little Rock (BLS sub-state LAUS)
Civilian labor force
106,798
2025 annual avg
Worked from home
12.4% ± 1.1 percentage points-17.8% vs US
share of workers 16+ working from home · U.S. share: 15.1% · ACS
County context — Little Rock sits in Pulaski County:
County
Poverty rate
Median HH income
Unemployment
Pulaski County
16.0%
$66,706
4.2%
Top industries by private employment — NAICS supersectors rolled up from Little Rock's linked county in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW, 2025 annual averages). See methodology §11.
#
Industry (NAICS supersector)
Private employment
Avg weekly wage
#1
Health care and social assistance (62)
40,164
$1,276 / wk
#2
Retail trade (44-45)
24,814
$789 / wk
#3
Accommodation and food services (72)
20,184
$473 / wk
#4
Transportation and warehousing (48-49)
17,740
$1,034 / wk
#5
Administrative and waste services (56)
15,488
$846 / wk
What workers earn in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR metro — top occupations by employment plus six curated benchmarks (registered nurse, software developer, elementary teacher, general manager, retail salesperson, truck driver). Wages are metro-area medians from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). See methodology §25.
Registered Nurses is the largest tracked occupation in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR metro (11,550 jobs, median $81,070/yr).
▸Show all 12 occupations
Occupation
Employment
Median annual
Median hourly
Fast Food and Counter Workers
8,720
$27,470
$13.21
Stockers and Order Fillers
7,990
$35,340
$16.99
Office Clerks, General
7,800
$37,250
$17.91
Cashiers
7,300
$27,720
$13.33
Customer Service Representatives
6,650
$38,160
$18.34
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
5,870
$37,440
$18.00
Registered Nurses · benchmark
11,550
$81,070
$38.98
Retail Salespersons · benchmark
10,620
$29,150
$14.01
General and Operations Managers · benchmark
9,330
$76,080
$36.58
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers · benchmark
7,910
$57,050
$27.43
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education · benchmark
All items run 10.6% below the U.S. average (RPP 89.4); rents run 31.7% below (RPP 68.3) — the metro's housing affordability is the main driver.
Cost of living (RPP, all items)RPP 89.4
US
Little Rock's cost of living runs 10.6% below the U.S. average (RPP 89.4 vs 100).
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of metro/non-metro areas with a BEA price parity
BEA Regional Price Parity (all items)
RPP 89.4
−10.6% vs U.S. average · BEA 2024 · Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR metro
HUD Fair Market Rent, 2-BR
$1,147/mo
FY2026 · Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR HUD Metro FMR Area
State income tax (top marginal rate)
3.90%
2 brackets · TY2026
One-person monthly spending scenario
$3,040/mo
1BR rent + food + taxes + transport · federal sources; excludes unverified local income tax
Local income tax
—
Unverified and excluded from the spending scenario; not a verified zero
Household budget figures are arithmetic floors using current federal sources at the grains documented in methodology. Not a recommended salary, not a poverty threshold, not a composite score.
8.3% ± 0.6 percentage points foreign-born (U.S. share 14.1%); Spanish is the most-spoken language at home other than English (9.0% of residents 5+).
A quick read on Little Rock's residents — nativity and languages spoken at home shown above, from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. The full demographic breakdown (age, race and ethnicity, household types, and educational attainment, each with its margin of error) lives on the demographics page.
These are K-12 public school districts. Higher education (colleges and universities) is not represented in this dataset.
Public school districts serving Little Rock, from the NCES EDGE Geographic Relationship Files (GRF25, 2024–25 school year boundaries). The join is many-to-many — large cities often span multiple districts, and one district often serves multiple cities. Sorted primary district first. See methodology §12 for the consolidated-city fallback and Milford CT special case.
Source: NCES EDGE GRF25 · school year 2024–25 · methodology →
What is the climate like in Little Rock?
Hottest month: July (92°F avg high). Coldest: January (32°F avg low). Annual precipitation: 53.4 in.
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) for Little Rock from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. See methodology §15 for the gridded vs. station source path.
Average monthly highs & lows · 30-year normal (NOAA 1991–2020). Every number on this chart is an average.
bar = avg daily high → avg daily lowprecip in inches below each barprecip in millimeters below each bar
Composite risk score: 96.8/100 — Relatively High nationally; top hazard: Ice Storm (99.9).
Natural-hazard exposure for Little Rock from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index (FEMA NRI December 2025 v1.20.0). NRI is an expected-annual-loss composite calibrated on 1996–2019 historical losses, published at the U.S. county grain. See methodology §17.
County
NRI composite
Rating
Top hazards
Pulaski County
96.8
Relatively High
Ice Storm 99.9 Very High · Tornado 99.2 Very High · Earthquake 98.2 Relatively High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index · FEMA NRI December 2025 v1.20.0 · methodology →
How fast is home internet in Little Rock?
16 non-satellite ISPs serve the area; 94% of locations have gigabit-capable service per ISP filings.
Fixed broadband availability for Little Rock from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Data Collection (BDC), as of December 31, 2025. Every speed and provider count below is an ISP-reported advertised maximum — not measured throughput. Actual delivered speeds typically run 60–80% of advertised. See methodology §16.
Measure
Value
Note
Providers serving this city
16 + satellite
distinct ISPs, excluding satellite-only
Fiber providers
15
offer fiber-to-the-premises somewhere in the BDC
Units with ≥100/20 Mbps fixed
100.0%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Locations with ≥100 Mbps upload
94.2%
derived: max(fiber ≥100/20, gigabit). Fiber is symmetric; gigabit is ≥100 up by definition
Units with ≥1 Gbps fixed
94.2%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Total broadband-serviceable units
116,106
residential locations in the FCC Fabric (not households)
Source: FCC BDC · as of December 31, 2025 · methodology →
How much crime is reported in Little Rock?
In 2024, law enforcement reported 3,415 violent and 10,650 property offenses in the Little Rock jurisdiction — a violent-crime rate of 1,672.0 per 100,000, above the U.S. estimate of 359.1.
Reported offenses known to law enforcement from the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program (CIUS Table 8), 2024. Figures describe the FBI agency jurisdiction: Little Rock — an FBI jurisdiction population of 204,247, versus the Census place population of 206,427. The rate per 100,000 is the FBI's own (count ÷ that jurisdiction population), never divided by the Census place figure. These are reported crimes under voluntary participation — not measured or victimization crime — and the FBI cautions against using them to rank or compare places. See methodology §31.
Offenses known, 2024
Count
Rate /100k
U.S. rate
Violent crime
3,415
1,672.0
359.1
Property crime
10,650
5,214.3
1,760.1
▸Offense breakdown and 3-year trend
Offense, 2024
Count
Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter
36
Rape
235
Robbery
445
Aggravated assault
2,699
Burglary
1,914
Larceny-theft
7,810
Motor vehicle theft
926
Arson (12-month reporters only)
61
Year
Violent /100k
Property /100k
Jurisdiction pop.
2022
1,833.1
5,348.5
201,513
2023
1,801.1
5,427.5
202,986
2024
1,672.0
5,214.3
204,247
Only years the agency reported a complete 12 months appear; the FBI does not estimate missing agency-years, so a gap is a non-reporting year, not zero crime.
U.S. rate is the FBI national estimate (imputes non-reporting agencies); the city figures are reported-only. Source: FBI UCR CIUS Table 8 (2022–2024) · FBI agency jurisdiction: Little Rock · methodology → · FBI Crime Data Explorer →
In-state context.
Little Rock sits at state rank #1 among 501 cities in Arkansas. Nearby in the state ranking:
Just above in the profiled set: Augusta, GA · #119 · 206,559 residents.
Just below in the profiled set: Rochester, NY · #121 · 206,108 residents.
Quick travel facts for Little Rock
Quick travel facts.
Elevation
279 ft · at city centroid, from USGS 3D Elevation Program
Nearest scheduled-service airport
Bill & Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field(LIT) · 8 mi 12 km from city centroid
Sources: elevation from USGS 3DEP · nearest airport from OurAirports CSV (OurAirports type=large/medium and scheduled_service=yes; not an FAA service classification) · best months derived from NOAA 1991-2020 normals · methodology →
Frequently asked questions about Little Rock.
How many people live in Little Rock, AR?
Little Rock has 206,427 residents as of July 1, 2025, making it the #120 largest city in the United States and #1 in Arkansas. Source: U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025.
Is Little Rock growing or shrinking?
Little Rock has grown 1.9% since the April 2020 census baseline, adding 3,884 residents, including a 0.2% increase from 2024 to 2025. Source: Census PEP Vintage 2025.
What was Little Rock's population in the 2020 census?
Little Rock covers 121.2 square miles of land, with a population density of about 1,703 residents per square mile. Source: Census Gazetteer 2025.
What is the median household income in Little Rock?
$63,003, about 22% below the U.S. median. Source: ACS 5-year estimates, 2020–2024.
SourceU.S. Census · PEP
VintageV2025
Reference2025-07-01
Place typeIncorporated place
GEOID0541000
Last build2026-09-30
Sources · provenance
Every listed dataset is used on this page.
The GEOID for Little Rock is 0541000. These are the official datasets used by this profile's main data modules; click "methodology" for inclusion rules and the V2019 ↔ V2025 seam, or "source" for the raw publisher page. The headline population value above includes a source-detail disclosure with publisher, dataset, vintage, native geography, transformation, and caveat.
