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−MenaSafer than 16% of U.S. towns DLonokeSafer than 10% of U.S. towns

Schools

B+MenaBetter than 72% of districts in the state CLonokeBetter than 32% of districts in the state

Health

C−MenaHealthier than 16% of U.S. towns DLonokeHealthier than 15% of U.S. towns

12Mena

8Lonoke

Lists won, of 21 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Highest graduation rateSchools · 115 towns #29#101 Shortest commuteGetting around · 127 towns #11#84 Lowest property taxCost of living · 127 towns #24#78 Most new homesHousing · 118 towns #98#48 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 127 towns #83#43 Best schoolsSchools · 113 towns #45#78 Most educatedPeople · 127 towns #75#107 Most conserved landOutdoors · 107 towns #64#41

Left end = #1 in Arkansas. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Mena’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%

Mena$1,130/mo

Typical home $202K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.43% · or rent about $639/mo · Housing →

Lonoke$1,240/mo

Typical home $205K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.95% · or rent about $757/mo · Housing →

The difference: $110 a month, about $1,300 a year, between Lonoke and Mena.

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

MenaLonoke

Snow a year4″3″

January low28°F 31°F

July high90°F 90°F

Growing season (days)208d 235d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)51st 70th

Outdoors & history

MenaLonoke

Trails1 mi 1 mi

Conserved land0.8%1.3%

Settled1896 1872

National Register places11 19

Archive photos12 11

Famous people born here10 14

Community

MenaLonoke

Library hours a week42 hrs —

Colleges in town1 —

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

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

133 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

MenaAR LonokeAR

Mena ↔ Lonoke133 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

MenaLonoke

People

Population 5,582Highest 4,267Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -2.6%Lowest AR: +3.3% +0.7%Highest AR: +3.3%

Median age 42.7±7.1Lowest 11% above AR 43.1±5.7Highest 12% above AR

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

Kids under 18 18.7%±4.2Lowest AR: 23.1% 21.6%±6.2Highest AR: 23.1%

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

Age 65+ 20.9%±3.8Highest AR: 17.6% 19.2%±4.1Lowest AR: 17.6%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 18.4%Highest AR: 25.7% 12.9%Lowest AR: 25.7%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 2.3%±1.6Highest AR: 5.1% 1.2%±1.1Lowest AR: 5.1%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $47,428±$8kLowest 22% below AR $47,524±$3kHighest 22% below AR

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $132,900±$19kHighest 29% below AR $106,800±$32kLowest 43% below AR

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $639±$118Lowest 33% below AR $757±$252Highest 20% below AR

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $569Lowest 45% below AR $1,013Highest about the AR average

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 26.9%±10.4Highest AR: 44.8% 22.8%±10.4Lowest AR: 44.8%

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

Below poverty line 13.9%Lowest AR: 16% 18.2%Highest AR: 16%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 67.5%Lowest AR: 66.4% 75.8%Highest AR: 66.4%

Typical home builtmedian year 1980Lowest 7 yrs older than AR 1983Highest 4 yrs older than AR

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 16 minLowest 30% below AR 24 minHighest 4% above AR

Work from home 2.4%±2.2Lowest AR: 8.8% 4.4%±3.3Highest AR: 8.8%

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

Work in townworking residents 46.2%Highest 16.2%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 3.3 miLowest 20.3 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.94Highest 1.06Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Fort Smith (4%)Little Rock (25%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in LonokeFew work in Mena

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0.8%Lowest 1.3%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 1.4 miHighest 0.5 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.2 miHighest 0.1 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1Lowest 3Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 66.9Highest 65.8Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #45 of 113 in AR #78 of 113 in AR

School district UA RICH MOUNTAIN TECHNICAL CENTER · MENA SCHOOL DISTRICTLONOKE SCHOOL DISTRICT

High school in town Mena High SchoolLonoke High School

Students per teacherat that high school 6.7Lowest 8.6Highest

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.

Mena neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Mena’s Town Square.

Lonoke neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Lonoke’s Town Square.

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Towns like Mena

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Paris3,284 people · $123K homes

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.

Mena vs Lonoke

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

Mena places higher on 12 of 21 AR lists

A typical home costs about the same each month

What daily life feels like in each

133 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Mena and Lonoke

Towns like Mena

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