Little Rock, AR

Census Place

2024 Population

203,436

US Senator

John Boozman

Republican Party

US Senator

Tom Cotton

Republican Party

2024 Median Age

35.9

1.37% 1-year decrease

2024 Poverty Rate

17.5%

6.53% 1-year increase

2024 Median Household Income

$63,003

3.99% 1-year growth

2024 Median Property Value

Population & Diversity

Little Rock, AR is home to a population of 203k people, from which 94% are citizens.

As of 2024, 8.26% of Little Rock, AR residents were born outside of the country (16.8k people).

In 2024, there were 1.08 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (86.9k people) in Little Rock, AR than any other race or ethnicity. There were 80.7k Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) and 9.94k Other (Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

94%

2024 Citizenship

94.7%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 94% of Little Rock, AR residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Little Rock, AR was 94.7%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Little Rock, AR compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Little Rock, AR

White (Non-Hispanic)
86.9k ± 2.55k
Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
80.7k ± 2.34k
Other (Hispanic)
9.94k ± 1.41k

10.6%

Hispanic Population

21.5k people

10.6% of the people in Little Rock, AR are hispanic (21.5k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Little Rock, AR as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the Place level, so we are showing data for Arkansas.

Most Common Origin

Mexico
66,868 ± 6,279 people
El Salvador
15,793 ± 3,077 people
India
10,798 ± 2,547 people

In 2024, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Arkansas was Mexico, the natal country of 66,868 Arkansas residents, followed by El Salvador with 15,793 and India with 10,798.

Foreign-Born Population

8.26%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

16.8k people

7.8%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

15.8k people

As of 2024, 8.26% of Little Rock, AR residents (16.8k people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Little Rock, AR was 7.8%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Little Rock, AR compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
2,911 ± 444
Gulf War (2001-)
2,236 ± 453
Gulf War (1990s)
1,323 ± 261

Little Rock, AR has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 1.3 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Little Rock, AR.

Economy

The economy of Little Rock, AR employs 96.5k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Little Rock, AR were Health Care & Social Assistance (18,561 people), Retail Trade (10,648 people), and Educational Services (8,736 people), and the highest paying industries were Utilities ($105,197), Finance & Insurance ($82,661), and Management of Companies & Enterprises ($78,484).

Employment

Occupations

96.5k

2024 Value

± 3,003

−0.234%

1 Year decline

± 4.39%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Little Rock, AR declined at a rate of −0.234%, from 96.7k employees to 96.5k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Little Rock, AR, are Management Occupations (11,682 people), Office & Administrative Support Occupations (10,447 people), and Sales & Related Occupations (9,431 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Little Rock, AR.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Arkansas.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in Arkansas (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

Industries

Employment by Industries

96.5k

2024 Value

± 3,003

−0.234%

1 Year decline

± 4.39%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Little Rock, AR declined at a rate of −0.234%, from 96.7k employees to 96.5k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Little Rock, AR, are Health Care & Social Assistance (18,561 people), Retail Trade (10,648 people), and Educational Services (8,736 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Little Rock, AR, though some of these residents may live in Little Rock, AR and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$52,092

Median earning men ± $2,482

$43,610

Median earning women ± $1,847

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($101,110), Public Administration ($69,201), and Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance ($63,247).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($62,544), Construction ($60,577), and Public Administration ($56,789).

Education

The student population of Little Rock, AR in 2024 is skewed towards women, with 6,904 male students and 13,078 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Little Rock, AR are White (2,273 and 54.8%), Black or African American (964 and 23.2%), Two or More Races (303 and 7.31%), and Hispanic or Latino (248 and 5.98%).

The largest universities in Little Rock, AR by number of degrees awarded are University of Arkansas at Little Rock (2,035 and 46.1%), University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (1,158 and 26.2%), and University of Arkansas Grantham (614 and 13.9%).

The most popular majors in Little Rock, AR are Registered Nursing (531 and 12%), Clinical Laboratory Technologist (353 and 7.99%), and General Business Administration & Management (262 and 5.93%).

The median tuition costs are $10,282 for private four year colleges, and $7,320 and $12,990 respectively, for public four year colleges for in-state students and out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University

Measure

In 2024 in Little Rock, AR, the percentage of applicants admitted was 59%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 22%. The number of students enrolled in 2024 was 19,982 (34.6% men and 65.4% women).

The line chart shows the evolution of the percentage of applicants admitted, admitted who enrolled or the number of students enrolled according to the option selected in the upper button.

Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2024 there were 19,982 students enrolled in Little Rock, AR, 34.6% men and 65.4% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 8,892 records, of which 64.4% were women and 35.6% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

Clinical Laboratory Technologist
345 degrees awarded
Registered Nursing
231 degrees awarded
General Business Administration & Management
146 degrees awarded

In 2024, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Little Rock, AR was Clinical Laboratory Technologist with 345 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Bachelors Degree from schools in Little Rock, AR according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

University of Arkansas at Little Rock
2,035 degrees awarded
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
1,158 degrees awarded
University of Arkansas Grantham
614 degrees awarded

In 2024, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was University of Arkansas at Little Rock with 2,035 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2024, 1,463 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Little Rock, AR, which is 0.495 times less than the 2,956 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2024, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 2,273 degrees mean that there were 2.36 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Black or African American, with 964 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Universities

Private for-profit, 4-year or above ($13,725) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2024.

Private not-for-profit, 2-year ($3,116) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2024.

Private not-for-profit, 2-year ($1,445) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Little Rock, AR was $236,400 in 2024, which is 0.711 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $221,200 to $236,400, a 6.87% increase. The homeownership rate in Little Rock, AR is 53.5%, which is lower than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Little Rock, AR have an average commute time of 18.5 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Little Rock, AR is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Housing

Property

$236,400

Median Property Value 2024

±$6,779

$47,046

Median Property Taxes

±$1,777

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Little Rock, AR the largest share of households pay taxes in the $3k+ range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Little Rock, AR compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

Rent vs Own

53.5%

Homeownership

2024

68%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 53.5% of the housing units in Little Rock, AR were occupied by their owner. This percentage declined from the previous year's rate of 54.2%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Little Rock, AR compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$63,003

Median Household Income

± $2,303

87.9k

Number of Households

± 2,921

In 2024, the median household income of the 87.9k households in Little Rock, AR grew to $63,003 from the previous year's value of $60,583.

The following chart displays the households in Little Rock, AR distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $75k - $100k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Little Rock, AR is from Arkansas.

0.445

2024 Wage GINI in Arkansas

0.448

2023 Wage GINI in Arkansas

In 2024, the income inequality in Arkansas was 0.445 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.844% decline from 2023 to 2024, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for Arkansas was lower than than the national average of 0.474. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in Arkansas in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in Arkansas across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024

Drove Alone (75.8%)
Worked At Home (12.4%)
Carpooled (8.58%)

In 2024, 75.8% of workers in Little Rock, AR drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (12.4%) and those who carpooled to work (8.58%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

18.5 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Little Rock, AR have a shorter commute time (18.5 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 1.17% of the workforce in Little Rock, AR have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Little Rock, AR compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Little Rock, AR distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Little Rock, AR have 2 cars.

Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

17.5% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Little Rock, AR (34.8k out of 199k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 25 - 34, followed by Females 35 - 44 and then Females 6 - 11.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Little Rock, AR is Black, followed by White and Hispanic.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798, followed by New York (5,087).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

Keep Exploring