The U.S. State of Arkansas currently has 25 statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On July 21, 2023, the OMB delineated four combined statistical areas, seven metropolitan statistical areas, and 14 micropolitan statistical areas in Arkansas. As of 2023, the most populous statistical area in the state is Little Rock-North Little Rock, AR CSA, comprising the metro area of its capital and largest city, Little Rock.
Statistical areas
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has designated more than 1,000 statistical areas for the United States and Puerto Rico. These statistical areas are important geographic delineations of population clusters used by the OMB, the United States Census Bureau, planning organizations, and federal, state, and local government entities.
The OMB defines a core-based statistical area (commonly referred to as a CBSA) as the county or counties (or county-equivalents) surrounding at least one densely-settled core of at least 10,000 population, "plus adjacent counties having a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured through commuting ties with the counties containing the core". The OMB further divides core-based statistical areas based on population into metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) for those with at least 50,000 and micropolitan statistical areas (μSAs) for those with 10,000 to 49,999 people.
The OMB defines a combined statistical area (CSA) as two or more adjacent core-based statistical areas where the employment interchange rate (% commuting from A to B plus % commuting from B to A) is at least 15%. The primary statistical areas (PSAs) include all combined statistical areas and any core-based statistical area that is not a constituent of a combined statistical area.
The 25 United States statistical areas and 75 counties of the State of Arkansas
| Combined statistical area
|
2023 population (est.)
|
Core-based statistical area
|
2023 population (est.)
|
County
|
2023 population (est.)
|
| Little Rock-North Little Rock, AR CSA
|
913,536
|
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR MSA
|
764,045
|
Pulaski County, Arkansas
|
400,009
|
| Faulkner County, Arkansas
|
129,951
|
| Saline County, Arkansas
|
129,574
|
| Lonoke County, Arkansas
|
75,944
|
| Grant County, Arkansas
|
18,383
|
| Perry County, Arkansas
|
10,184
|
| Searcy, AR μSA
|
78,452
|
White County, Arkansas
|
78,452
|
| Pine Bluff, AR μSA
|
71,039
|
Jefferson County, Arkansas
|
63,661
|
| Cleveland County, Arkansas
|
7,378
|
| none
|
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR MSA
|
590,337
|
Benton County, Arkansas
|
311,013
|
| Washington County, Arkansas
|
261,549
|
| Madison County, Arkansas
|
17,775
|
| Fort Smith, AR-OK MSA
|
231,280 190,989 (AR)
|
Sebastian County, Arkansas
|
129,098
|
| Crawford County, Arkansas
|
61,891
|
| Sequoyah County, Oklahoma
|
40,291
|
| Jonesboro-Paragould, AR CSA
|
183,133
|
Jonesboro, AR MSA
|
136,390
|
Craighead County, Arkansas
|
113,993
|
| Poinsett County, Arkansas
|
22,397
|
| Paragould, AR μSA
|
46,743
|
Greene County, Arkansas
|
46,743
|
| Hot Springs-Malvern, AR CSA
|
133,042
|
Hot Springs, AR MSA
|
99,784
|
Garland County, Arkansas
|
99,784
|
| Malvern, AR μSA
|
33,258
|
Hot Spring County, Arkansas
|
33,258
|
| none
|
Russellville, AR μSA
|
84,637
|
Pope County, Arkansas
|
64,593
|
| Yell County, Arkansas
|
20,044
|
| Memphis-Forrest City, TN-MS-AR CSA
|
1,377,852 69,240 (AR)
|
Memphis, TN-MS-AR MSA
|
1,335,674 47,139 (AR)
|
Shelby County, Tennessee
|
910,042
|
| DeSoto County, Mississippi
|
193,247
|
| Tipton County, Tennessee
|
62,015
|
| Crittenden County, Arkansas
|
47,139
|
| Fayette County, Tennessee
|
44,175
|
| Marshall County, Mississippi
|
34,123
|
| Tate County, Mississippi
|
28,261
|
| Tunica County, Mississippi
|
9,234
|
| Benton County, Mississippi
|
7,438
|
| Forrest City, AR μSA
|
22,101
|
St. Francis County, Arkansas
|
22,101
|
| Clarksdale, MS μSA
|
20,077
|
Coahoma County, Mississippi
|
20,077
|
| none
|
Texarkana, TX-AR MSA
|
145,907 54,220 (AR)
|
Bowie County, Texas
|
91,687
|
| Miller County, Arkansas
|
42,415
|
| Little River County, Arkansas
|
11,805
|
| Harrison, AR μSA
|
45,601
|
Boone County, Arkansas
|
38,530
|
| Newton County, Arkansas
|
7,071
|
| Mountain Home, AR μSA
|
42,875
|
Baxter County, Arkansas
|
42,875
|
| Blytheville, AR μSA
|
38,663
|
Mississippi County, Arkansas
|
38,663
|
| Batesville, AR μSA
|
38,320
|
Independence County, Arkansas
|
38,320
|
| El Dorado, AR μSA
|
37,397
|
Union County, Arkansas
|
37,397
|
| Camden, AR μSA
|
26,434
|
Ouachita County, Arkansas
|
21,793
|
| Calhoun County, Arkansas
|
4,641
|
| Magnolia, AR μSA
|
22,150
|
Columbia County, Arkansas
|
22,150
|
| Arkadelphia, AR μSA
|
21,274
|
Clark County, Arkansas
|
21,274
|
| none
|
Carroll County, Arkansas
|
28,814
|
| Johnson County, Arkansas
|
26,129
|
| Cleburne County, Arkansas
|
25,445
|
| Logan County, Arkansas
|
21,400
|
| Conway County, Arkansas
|
21,077
|
| Polk County, Arkansas
|
19,436
|
| Hempstead County, Arkansas
|
19,343
|
| Randolph County, Arkansas
|
18,907
|
| Ashley County, Arkansas
|
18,262
|
| Sharp County, Arkansas
|
17,968
|
| Marion County, Arkansas
|
17,514
|
| Franklin County, Arkansas
|
17,468
|
| Drew County, Arkansas
|
16,945
|
| Jackson County, Arkansas
|
16,782
|
| Cross County, Arkansas
|
16,420
|
| Lawrence County, Arkansas
|
16,318
|
| Arkansas County, Arkansas
|
16,307
|
| Van Buren County, Arkansas
|
16,142
|
| Sevier County, Arkansas
|
15,632
|
| Phillips County, Arkansas
|
14,961
|
| Clay County, Arkansas
|
14,201
|
| Izard County, Arkansas
|
14,169
|
| Lincoln County, Arkansas
|
12,898
|
| Stone County, Arkansas
|
12,671
|
| Howard County, Arkansas
|
12,533
|
| Fulton County, Arkansas
|
12,421
|
| Desha County, Arkansas
|
10,479
|
| Pike County, Arkansas
|
10,208
|
| Bradley County, Arkansas
|
10,104
|
| Scott County, Arkansas
|
9,851
|
| Chicot County, Arkansas
|
9,538
|
| Montgomery County, Arkansas
|
8,620
|
| Lee County, Arkansas
|
8,201
|
| Nevada County, Arkansas
|
8,120
|
| Prairie County, Arkansas
|
8,036
|
| Searcy County, Arkansas
|
7,806
|
| Monroe County, Arkansas
|
6,512
|
| Dallas County, Arkansas
|
6,185
|
| Lafayette County, Arkansas
|
6,095
|
| Woodruff County, Arkansas
|
5,964
|
| State of Arkansas
|
3,067,730
|
The 21 core-based statistical areas of the State of Arkansas
| 2023 rank
|
Core-based statistical area
|
Population
|
| 2023 estimate
|
Change
|
2020 Census
|
Change
|
2010 Census
|
| 1
|
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR MSA
|
764,045 |
+2.14% |
748,031 |
+6.90% |
699,757
|
| 2
|
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR MSA
|
590,337 |
+7.98% |
546,725 |
+24.22% |
440,121
|
| 3
|
Fort Smith, AR-OK MSA (AR)
|
190,989 |
+1.63% |
187,932 |
+0.13% |
187,692
|
| 4
|
Jonesboro, AR MSA
|
136,390 |
+1.63% |
134,196 |
+10.88% |
121,026
|
| 5
|
Hot Springs, AR MSA
|
99,784 |
−0.40% |
100,180 |
+4.33% |
96,024
|
| 6
|
Russellville, AR μSA
|
84,637 |
+1.19% |
83,644 |
−0.35% |
83,939
|
| 7
|
Searcy, AR μSA
|
78,452 |
+2.12% |
76,822 |
−0.33% |
77,076
|
| 8
|
Pine Bluff, AR μSA
|
71,039 |
−5.04% |
74,810 |
−13.14% |
86,124
|
| 9
|
Texarkana, TX-AR MSA (AR)
|
54,220 |
−0.74% |
54,626 |
−3.54% |
56,633
|
| 10
|
Memphis, TN-MS-AR MSA (AR)
|
47,139 |
−2.13% |
48,163 |
−5.38% |
50,902
|
| 11
|
Paragould, AR μSA
|
46,743 |
+2.20% |
45,736 |
+8.66% |
42,090
|
| 12
|
Harrison, AR μSA
|
45,601 |
+2.25% |
44,598 |
−1.40% |
45,233
|
| 13
|
Mountain Home, AR μSA
|
42,875 |
+3.00% |
41,627 |
+0.27% |
41,513
|
| 14
|
Blytheville, AR μSA
|
38,663 |
−4.97% |
40,685 |
−12.47% |
46,480
|
| 15
|
Batesville, AR μSA
|
38,320 |
+1.01% |
37,938 |
+3.52% |
36,647
|
| 16
|
El Dorado, AR μSA
|
37,397 |
−4.24% |
39,054 |
−6.21% |
41,639
|
| 17
|
Malvern, AR μSA
|
33,258 |
+0.66% |
33,040 |
+0.36% |
32,923
|
| 18
|
Camden, AR μSA
|
26,434 |
−3.49% |
27,389 |
−13.02% |
31,488
|
| 19
|
Magnolia, AR μSA
|
22,150 |
−2.86% |
22,801 |
−7.13% |
24,552
|
| 20
|
Forrest City, AR μSA
|
22,101 |
−4.28% |
23,090 |
−19.06% |
28,528
|
| 21
|
Arkadelphia, AR μSA
|
21,274 |
−0.80% |
21,446 |
−6.74% |
22,995
|
|
|
Fort Smith, AR-OK MSA
|
231,280 |
+1.79% |
227,213 |
−1.25% |
230,083
|
|
|
Memphis, TN-MS-AR MSA
|
1,335,674 |
−0.72% |
1,345,425 |
+1.55% |
1,324,829
|
|
|
Texarkana, TX-AR MSA
|
145,907 |
−1.09% |
147,519 |
−1.13% |
149,198
|
The four combined statistical areas of the State of Arkansas
| 2023 rank
|
Combined statistical area
|
Population
|
| 2023 estimate
|
Change
|
2020 Census
|
Change
|
2010 Census
|
| 1
|
Little Rock-North Little Rock, AR CSA
|
913,536 |
+1.54% |
899,663 |
+4.25% |
862,957
|
| 2
|
Jonesboro-Paragould, AR CSA
|
183,133 |
+1.78% |
179,932 |
+10.31% |
163,116
|
| 3
|
Hot Springs-Malvern, AR CSA
|
133,042 |
−0.13% |
133,220 |
+3.31% |
128,947
|
| 4
|
Memphis-Forrest City, TN-MS-AR CSA (AR)
|
69,420 |
−2.57% |
71,253 |
−9.99% |
79,160
|
|
|
Memphis-Forrest City, TN-MS-AR CSA
|
1,377,852 |
−0.87% |
1,389,905 |
+0.77% |
1,379,238
|