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Van Buren

A city of 23,763 people in Arkansas
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Outdoors in Van Buren

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Map of Van Buren: conserved land, trails and the top places to walk
Conserved land6.4%662 of 10,305 acres
Trails4.9 mi0.3 mi per sq mi
Parks & preserves928 conserved acres per 1,000 residents

Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US

Van Buren, Arkansas1888
From Van Buren’s story

Van Buren, Arkansas, 1888

Photo · Wikimedia Commons

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About Van Buren

City in Arkansas, United States
1831Established
23,218Population
16.2 sq miArea
400 ftElevation

Van Buren ( van BURE-ən) is the second-largest city in the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area and the county seat of Crawford County, Arkansas, United States. The city is located directly northeast of Fort Smith at the Interstate 40 – Interstate 540 junction. The city was incorporated in 1845 and as of the 2020 census had a population of 23,218, ranking it as the state's 21st largest city. According to 2023 population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, Van Buren’s population is 24,138. With a 4% growth rate from 2020 to 2023, Van Buren is Arkansas’s eighth-fastest growing city.

Official town website ↗

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Town numbers

ZIP code72956–72957, 72956, 72957
Area code479
Living in Van Buren

Housing in Van Buren

$210K▲ 5.6% in a year Typical home value · Zillow

The typical Van Buren home is worth about $210,000, up 5.6% in a year, 8% below the Arkansas typical home.

A strong seller's market

Buyer’sBalancedSeller’s
Days on market37
Sale-to-list102.3%
Sold in May32
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data CenterHousing market →

Safety in Van Buren

C−

Safety Grade C-

Van Buren reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 80% report less. Within Arkansas, it does better than 40% of towns.

Violent crime per 1,000
Van Buren 2.1
Arkansas 5.4
U.S. 3.3
Property crime per 1,000
Van Buren 20.6
Arkansas 16.7
U.S. 15.5
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to policeCrime & safety →

Schools in Van Buren

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B+

School Grade B+

The public schools Van Buren’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 71% of Arkansas’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the top.

#29Best public schoolsof 113 in AR
DistrictVAN BUREN SCHOOL DISTRICTSchools11

School data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES, EDFacts). The School Grade is our own summary of state test results and graduation rates, graded within AR. Ratings are from neighbors.

Famous people from Van BurenWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Van Buren.Meet them →

Where Van Buren is

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Locator map of Van Buren
Wikimedia Commons · Map: Arkyan · CC BY-SA 3.0

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Compare side by side:Van Buren vs Fort Smith

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Van Buren

Arkansas · AR
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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01