Official Federal Data
Washington County, Arkansas
FIPS 05143 · Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR · Population 256,765
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$70,639 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
3.4% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$18.2B ▲
GDP
35.2% ▲
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
$70,639 ▲
Per Capita
$38,150 ▲
Mean Household
$98,731 ▲
Poverty Rate
14.6% ▼
Median Income Comparison
Washington County$70,639
Arkansas$60,773
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 23.5%
18-34 · 29.7%
35-54 · 24.5%
55-64 · 10%
65+ · 12.3%
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+
87.8%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▼ 1.8 pts
35.2%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 0.5 pts
14.8%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▲ +0.7 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
256,765
Population
132,559
Labor Force
Employed
127,793
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
3.4% ▲ +0.6 pts YoY
Mean Commute 6 min below national avg
20.9 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
11.2%
Key Takeaways
- Elevated poverty: At 14.6%, the rate is in economically distressed territory and supports federal funding narratives (CDFI, NMTC, EDA).
- Young population: Median age of 32 is materially below the U.S. norm, a workforce pipeline asset.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 17,514 workers (19.5% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $63,367.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $18.2B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Management of Companies and Enterprises averages $155,154 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $23,260, a 6.7x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
Seeing a change here?
Get Deeper Trends
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.
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
9,428
Cluster Employment
4.83x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Food Manufacturing
4.83x 6,717
Truck Transportation
3.50x 4,053
Management of Companies and Enterprises
2.35x 4,792
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
1.62x 1,811
Printing and Related Support Activities
1.56x 422
Wood Product Manufacturing
1.52x 478
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.13x
Chemical Manufacturing
88 employed
0.19x
Crop Production
77 employed
0.19x
Publishing Industries and Telecommunications
135 employed
0.27x
Warehousing and Storage
395 employed
0.27x
Securities, Commodity Contracts, Investments
231 employed
0.29x
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
393 employed
0.31x
Miscellaneous Manufacturing
147 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Food Manufacturing concentrates at 4.83x the national norm, strong concentration that anchors the local economy and supports supply-chain attraction strategy.
- Cluster depth: 6 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.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$298,400 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,071 ▲
Rent/Mo
55.6% ▲
Owner-Occ
7.8% ▲
Vacancy
4.2x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$1,007/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,115/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,347/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,873/mo
4 Bedroom
$2,213/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,766/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 4.2x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
- Affordable rent tiers: 3 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,766/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
164,774 ▲
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 6 min below national avg
20.9 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
11.2%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
81.4%
of prime-age population
▲ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
35.2% ▲
HS Diploma+
87.8% ▲
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
15.5%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
42.7%
Service
15%
Sales & Office
18.7%
Construction / Maint.
9.9%
Production / Transport
13.7%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 127,793 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Short commutes: 20.9-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
Washington County shows meaningful potential for food manufacturing attraction, with a 4.83x concentration and 6,717 jobs in this sub-sector.
The interconnected base across food manufacturing, truck transportation, and management of companies and enterprises 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 DemoAvailable 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 Washington County, Arkansas, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Washington County, Arkansas?
256,765 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Washington County, Arkansas?
$70,639 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Washington County, Arkansas?
3.4% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Washington County, Arkansas?
$18.2B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
Washington County, AR: Public data. Imagine the full platform.
Get a Demo →