ExecutivePulse
Official Federal Data

Crittenden County, Arkansas

FIPS 05035 · Memphis, TN-MS-AR · Population 47,266
9 Sources Updated June 22, 2026
$55,358
Median Income
$80,734 national
5.6%
Unemployment
4% national
$2.3B
GDP
17%
Bachelor's+
35.7% national

Demographics & Population

Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates

Household Income

Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$55,358
Per Capita
$27,786
Mean Household
$70,945
Poverty Rate
21%
Median Income Comparison
Crittenden County$55,358
Arkansas$60,773
National$80,734

Population Profile

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
65+: 15.3% (7,221 residents) 55-64: 12.5% (5,902 residents) 35-54: 23.4% (11,061 residents) 18-34: 21.8% (10,323 residents) Under 18: 27% (12,759 residents) 36 Median Age
Cohorts
Under 18 · 27%
18-34 · 21.8%
35-54 · 23.4%
55-64 · 12.5%
65+ · 15.3%
Race & Ethnicity
White39.1%
Black or African American50.9%
Asian0.8%
Hispanic or Latino(any race)3.3%
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.

Educational Attainment

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
85.4%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▼ 4.2 pts
17%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 18.7 pts
5.4%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 8.7 pts

Employment Overview

Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
47,266
Population
22,376
Labor Force
Employed
20,052
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
5.6% ▲ +1.1 pts YoY
Mean Commute 4 min below national avg
22.5 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
7.1%
Key Takeaways
  • Income gap: Households earn meaningfully less than the national median, which directly affects retail demand, housing absorption, and tax base.
  • Elevated poverty: At 21%, the rate is in economically distressed territory and supports federal funding narratives (CDFI, NMTC, EDA).
  • Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 18.7 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.

Economy & Industry

Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis

$2.3B
Gross Domestic Product · 2024
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis · CAGDP1 Regional GDP

Top Industries by Employment

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics · Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages 2025 Annual
Top industries by employment in Crittenden County, Arkansas, with employment, share of top sectors, and average wage
IndustryEmploymentShare of Top 10Avg Wage
1Transportation and Warehousing
3,741 32.5%
$60,144
2Manufacturing
1,940 16.8%
$66,606
3Health Care and Social Assistance
1,879 16.3%
$48,386
4Retail Trade
1,835 15.9%
$33,858
5Wholesale Trade
839 7.3%
$66,474
6Administrative and Support and Waste Management
537 4.7%
$47,404
7Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
236 2.0%
$66,053
8Finance and Insurance
233 2.0%
$77,730
9Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
170 1.5%
$49,111
10Educational Services
107 0.9%
$42,930
Track industry shifts with AI

ExecutivePulse monitors WARN notices, BLS changes, and SEC filings for your top employers.

Learn More
Key Takeaways
  • Largest sector: Transportation and Warehousing employs 3,741 workers (32.5% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $60,144.
  • Economic scale: Regional GDP of $2.3B (2024).
  • Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $77,730 while Retail Trade averages $33,858, a 2.3x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
Seeing a change here?

EP customers get year-over-year deltas, WARN notices, and SEC filings for every sector tracked above, surfaced as proactive alerts, not after-the-fact news.

Get Deeper Trends

Industry Concentration

Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.

Location Quotient Analysis

Concentrated Industries
Source: BLS QCEW · 3-digit NAICS sub-sector · Location Quotient vs. national employment share
Same source as the Top Industries table above, sub-sector view surfaces the specialization the supersector view masks (e.g., Plastics & Rubber Manufacturing inside the Manufacturing supersector).
Truck Transportation
17.62x
3,000
Gasoline Stations and Fuel Dealers
2.81x
339
Crop Production
2.63x
160
Warehousing and Storage
2.31x
506
Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
2.12x
101
Support Activities for Transportation
1.89x
178
Repair and Maintenance
1.57x
264
Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods
1.51x
591

Cluster Depth

Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Transportation & Warehousing Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
3,684
Cluster Employment
17.62x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Truck Transportation
17.62x 3,000
Gasoline Stations and Fuel Dealers
2.81x 339
Crop Production
2.63x 160
Warehousing and Storage
2.31x 506
Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
2.12x 101
Support Activities for Transportation
1.89x 178
Repair and Maintenance
1.57x 264
Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods
1.51x 591

Attraction Opportunities

LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.19x
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
236 employed
0.28x
Personal and Laundry Services
51 employed
0.29x
Educational Services
107 employed
0.32x
Specialty Trade Contractors
192 employed
0.40x
Clothing, Clothing Accessories, Shoe, and Jewelry Retailers
52 employed
Key Takeaways
  • Top specialization: Truck Transportation concentrates at 17.62x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
  • Cluster depth: 8 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
  • Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Crittenden County's Top Sectors by Workforce Share
Each rectangle's area is proportional to that sector's share of total private-sector employment across all NAICS supersectors. Hover for exact employment.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW 2025 Annual · Private sector, NAICS supersectors

Housing & Affordability

Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026

Housing Overview

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$160,200
Median Home Value vs 2019
$911
Rent/Mo
57.4%
Owner-Occ
14.9%
Vacancy
2.9x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Affordable
vs. ~4.1x national average

HUD Fair Market Rents

Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$1,060/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,154/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,274/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,683/mo
4 Bedroom
$1,959/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,384/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
  • Affordable market: Home value to income ratio of 2.9x is well below the ~4.1x national average; supports talent attraction and family settlement narratives.
  • Elevated vacancy: 14.9% vacancy rate. In resort, rural, and seasonal markets much of this is recreational/seasonal (second homes), not available supply; confirm the vacancy-by-reason split before treating it as a redevelopment opportunity.
  • Affordable rent tiers: 3 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,384/mo).
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.

Workforce Pipeline

Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition

Labor Market Overview

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
27,286
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 4 min below national avg
22.5 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
7.1%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
75.3%
of prime-age population
Labor force participation rate: 64.8% of working-age population (18-64) 65% Participation
▲ vs 2019

Education & Talent Pipeline

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
17%
HS Diploma+
85.4%
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
23,161/yr
University of Arkansas 7,274/yr
Arkansas State University 5,133/yr
Arkansas Tech University 3,923/yr
University of Central Arkansas 2,507/yr
University of Arkansas at Little Rock 2,279/yr
NorthWest Arkansas Community College 2,045/yr

Aging Workforce

Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
21.6%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.

Workforce by Occupation

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
29.6%
Service
17.3%
Sales & Office
21.8%
Construction / Maint.
10%
Production / Transport
21.4%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 20,052 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
  • Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 16,330 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.

AI Insights

AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources

Sample AI Insight

Crittenden County shows strong potential for truck transportation attraction, with a 17.62x concentration and 3,000 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.

The interconnected base across truck transportation, gasoline stations and fuel dealers, and crop production creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.

Industry Shift Analysis

Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100

Prospect Match Scores

Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example

Take it further

AI Insights: Built into ExecutivePulse. Continuous analysis tied to your own pipeline: industry-shift signals, prospect matches, retention prompts.

Managed Services: Prefer to hand it off? Our team delivers the analysis and consulting for you.

Schedule a Demo
Available as premium offerings.

Data Sources

Updated from official federal government data.

Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23

Frequently Asked Questions

Key economic and demographic figures for Crittenden County, Arkansas, from federal data sources.

What is the population of Crittenden County, Arkansas?

47,266 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the median household income in Crittenden County, Arkansas?

$55,358 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the unemployment rate in Crittenden County, Arkansas?

5.6% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).

What is the GDP of Crittenden County, Arkansas?

$2.3B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).