Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Arkansas ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety

C−AshdownSafer than 16% of U.S. towns –SouthsideNot graded

Schools

C+AshdownBetter than 41% of districts in the state B+SouthsideBetter than 70% of districts in the state

Health

DAshdownHealthier than 7% of U.S. towns DSouthsideHealthier than 7% of U.S. towns

9Ashdown

7Southside

Lists won, of 17 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Shortest commuteGetting around · 127 towns #126#42 Lowest depressionHealth · 127 towns #23#94 Most walkableOutdoors · 127 towns #56#116 Best schoolsSchools · 113 towns #82#40 Cheapest rentCost of living · 126 towns #12#53 Lowest property taxCost of living · 127 towns #28#61 Most educatedPeople · 127 towns #44#69 Highest incomeIncome · 127 towns #62#40

Left end = #1 in Arkansas. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Ashdown’s rankings →

Monthly cost

A typical home costs about the same each month

A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Ashdown$910/mo

Typical home $162K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.42% · or rent about $683/mo · Housing →

Southside$860/mo

Typical home $151K (Census) · tax rate 0.54% · or rent about $843/mo · Housing →

Within $50 a month of each other.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

AshdownSouthside

Snow a year2″2″

January low32°F 28°F

July high93°F 91°F

Growing season (days)233d 221d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)67th 72nd

Outdoors & history

AshdownSouthside

Trails2 mi —

Conserved land0%—

Settled1892 —

National Register places7 —

Archive photos6 —

Famous people born here5 —

Community

AshdownSouthside

Library hours a week30 hrs —

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 1

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

200 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

AshdownAR SouthsideAR

Ashdown ↔ Southside200 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Arkansas average

AshdownSouthside

People

Population 4,164Lowest 4,246Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -9.8% AR: +3.3% —

Median age 35.6±2Lowest 8% below AR 37.5±3.5Highest about the AR average

Southside and Ashdown are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 25.9%±4.2Lowest AR: 23.1% 30%±7.4Highest AR: 23.1%

Southside and Ashdown are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 19.5%±4.5Highest AR: 17.6% 15.9%±4Lowest AR: 17.6%

Ashdown and Southside are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 23.8%Highest AR: 25.7% 19.4%Lowest AR: 25.7%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 3.8%±2.4Highest AR: 5.1% 3.6%±2.2Lowest AR: 5.1%

Ashdown and Southside are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $55,625±$26kLowest 8% below AR $65,655±$15kHighest 8% above AR

Southside and Ashdown are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $139,800±$21kLowest 26% below AR $151,300±$19kHighest 20% below AR

Southside and Ashdown are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $683±$198Lowest 28% below AR $843±$48Highest 11% below AR

Southside and Ashdown are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $592Lowest 43% below AR $820Highest 21% below AR

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 50.3%±19Highest AR: 44.8% 35.3%±20.4Lowest AR: 44.8%

Ashdown and Southside are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 20.8%Highest AR: 16% 17.5%Lowest AR: 16%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 71.6%Highest AR: 66.4% 65.8%Lowest AR: 66.4%

Typical home builtmedian year 1977Lowest 10 yrs older than AR 1988Highest 1 yr newer than AR

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 35 minHighest 54% above AR 20 minLowest 13% below AR

Work from home 3.8%±4.4Lowest AR: 8.8% 5.3%±3.4Highest AR: 8.8%

Southside and Ashdown are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 21%Highest 12.9%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 16.3 miHighest 4.8 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.80Lowest 0.95Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Texarkana (13%)Batesville (45%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in SouthsideFew work in Ashdown

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0% 0%

Trailsmapped miles 1.5 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.2 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1Highest 0Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 48.4Highest 20.7Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #82 of 113 in AR #40 of 113 in AR

School district ASHDOWN SCHOOL DISTRICTSOUTHSIDE SCHOOL DISTRICT (Independence)

High school in town Ashdown High SchoolSouthside Charter High School

Students per teacherat that high school 7.0Highest 6.4Lowest

Arkansas average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Ashdown neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Ashdown’s Town Square.

Southside neighborsTown Square →

T Weaver · 1w

Southside School Memories

1 neighbor in Southside can answer.

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Towns like Ashdown

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Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Ashdown vs Southside

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

Ashdown places higher on 9 of 17 AR lists

A typical home costs about the same each month

What daily life feels like in each

200 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Southside School Memories

Set another town beside Ashdown and Southside

Towns like Ashdown

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