Official Federal Data
Sebastian County, Arkansas
FIPS 05131 · Fort Smith, AR-OK · Population 128,900
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$57,790 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
4% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$9.3B ▲
GDP
23.3% ▲
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
$57,790 ▲
Per Capita
$34,992 ▲
Mean Household
$87,364 ▲
Poverty Rate
16% ▼
Median Income Comparison
Sebastian County$57,790
Arkansas$60,773
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 23.8%
18-34 · 22.3%
35-54 · 24.3%
55-64 · 12.6%
65+ · 17%
Race & Ethnicity
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+
85.6%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▼ 4.0 pts
23.3%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 12.4 pts
9.3%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 4.8 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
128,900
Population
61,912
Labor Force
Employed
58,034
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
4% ▲ +0.6 pts YoY
Mean Commute 7 min below national avg
19.3 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
7.6%
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 16%, 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 12.4 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Manufacturing employs 12,798 workers (23.7% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $63,099.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $9.3B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $79,042 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $23,003, a 3.4x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Manufacturing Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
10,702
Cluster Employment
9.00x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Electrical Equipment, Appliance Manufacturing
9.00x 1,691
Paper Manufacturing
8.85x 1,350
Food Manufacturing
5.75x 4,430
Primary Metal Manufacturing
5.02x 791
Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing
3.73x 540
Truck Transportation
2.72x 1,746
Utilities
2.66x 697
Machinery Manufacturing
2.39x 1,128
Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
2.19x 394
Wood Product Manufacturing
2.17x 378
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.33x
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
1,554 employed
0.34x
Chemical Manufacturing
130 employed
0.35x
Waste Management and Remediation Services
78 employed
0.39x
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
76 employed
0.41x
Insurance Carriers and Related Activities
458 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Electrical Equipment, Appliance Manufacturing concentrates at 9.00x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
- Cluster depth: 10 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 5 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$176,200 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$886 ▲
Rent/Mo
61.4% ▲
Owner-Occ
9.2% ▼
Vacancy
3.0x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$683/mo
1 Bedroom
$714/mo
2 Bedroom
$937/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,266/mo
4 Bedroom
$1,532/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,445/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.0x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
- Affordable rent tiers: 4 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,445/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
76,313 ▼
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 7 min below national avg
19.3 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
7.6%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
77.5%
of prime-age population
▲ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
23.3% ▲
HS Diploma+
85.6% ▲
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
23,161/yr
7,274/yr
5,133/yr
3,923/yr
2,507/yr
2,279/yr
2,045/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
21.3%
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
36.5%
Service
15.9%
Sales & Office
20.7%
Construction / Maint.
7.6%
Production / Transport
19.4%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 58,034 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Short commutes: 19.3-minute mean commute is a quality-of-life and labor-access advantage worth surfacing for site selectors.
- 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
Sebastian County shows strong potential for electrical equipment, appliance manufacturing attraction, with a 9.00x concentration and 1,691 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.
The interconnected base across electrical equipment, appliance manufacturing, paper manufacturing, and food manufacturing 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
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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 Sebastian County, Arkansas, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Sebastian County, Arkansas?
128,900 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Sebastian County, Arkansas?
$57,790 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Sebastian County, Arkansas?
4% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Sebastian County, Arkansas?
$9.3B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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