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 →

Southside$860/mo

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

The difference: $270 a month, about $3,200 a year, between Mena and Southside.

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.

Report cards

Mena places higher on 12 of 17 AR lists

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 –SouthsideNot graded

Schools

B+MenaBetter than 72% of districts in the state B+SouthsideBetter than 70% of districts in the state

Health

C−MenaHealthier than 16% of U.S. towns DSouthsideHealthier than 7% of U.S. towns

12Mena

4Southside

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

Most walkableOutdoors · 127 towns #12#116 Highest incomeIncome · 127 towns #92#40 Lowest depressionHealth · 127 towns #47#94 Cheapest rentCost of living · 126 towns #7#53 Lowest obesityHealth · 127 towns #44#84 Lowest property taxCost of living · 127 towns #24#61 Shortest commuteGetting around · 127 towns #11#42 Fewest smokersHealth · 127 towns #58#89

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

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

MenaSouthside

Snow a year4″2″

January low28°F 28°F

July high90°F 91°F

Growing season (days)208d 221d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)51st 72nd

Outdoors & history

MenaSouthside

Trails1 mi —

Conserved land0.8%—

Settled1896 —

National Register places11 —

Archive photos12 —

Famous people born here10 —

Community

MenaSouthside

Library hours a week42 hrs —

Colleges in town1 —

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

167 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

MenaAR SouthsideAR

Mena ↔ Southside167 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

MenaSouthside

People

Population 5,582Highest 4,246Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -2.6% AR: +3.3% —

Median age 42.7±7.1Highest 11% above AR 37.5±3.5Lowest about the AR average

Mena and Southside 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% 30%±7.4Highest AR: 23.1%

Southside 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% 15.9%±4Lowest AR: 17.6%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 18.4%Lowest AR: 25.7% 19.4%Highest AR: 25.7%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 2.3%±1.6Lowest AR: 5.1% 3.6%±2.2Highest AR: 5.1%

Southside and Mena 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 $65,655±$15kHighest 8% above AR

Southside 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±$19kLowest 29% below AR $151,300±$19kHighest 20% below AR

Southside and Mena 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 $843±$48Highest 11% below AR

Property taxmedian, yearly $569Lowest 45% below AR $820Highest 21% below AR

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 26.9%±10.4Lowest AR: 44.8% 35.3%±20.4Highest AR: 44.8%

Southside and Mena 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% 17.5%Highest AR: 16%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 67.5%Highest AR: 66.4% 65.8%Lowest AR: 66.4%

Typical home builtmedian year 1980Lowest 7 yrs older than AR 1988Highest 1 yr newer than AR

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 16 minLowest 30% below AR 20 minHighest 13% below AR

Work from home 2.4%±2.2Lowest AR: 8.8% 5.3%±3.4Highest AR: 8.8%

Southside 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 12.9%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 3.3 miLowest 4.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.94Highest 0.95Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Fort Smith (4%)Batesville (45%)

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

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0.8%Highest 0%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 1.4 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 66.9Highest 20.7Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #45 of 113 in AR #40 of 113 in AR

School district UA RICH MOUNTAIN TECHNICAL CENTER · MENA SCHOOL DISTRICTSOUTHSIDE SCHOOL DISTRICT (Independence)

High school in town Mena High SchoolSouthside Charter High School

Students per teacherat that high school 6.7Highest 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.

Mena neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Mena’s Town Square.

Southside neighborsTown Square →

T Weaver · 1w

Southside School Memories

1 neighbor in Southside can answer.

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Towns like Mena

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Barling5,007 people · $140K homes

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Heber Springs7,161 people · $176K homes

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Lonoke4,267 people · $107K homes

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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 Southside

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $270 more a month in Mena

Mena places higher on 12 of 17 AR lists

What daily life feels like in each

167 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Southside School Memories

Set another town beside Mena and Southside

Towns like Mena

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