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%

Southside$860/mo

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

Mena$1,130/mo

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

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

Schools

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

Health

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

4Southside

12Mena

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

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

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

SouthsideMena

Snow a year2″4″

January low28°F 28°F

July high91°F 90°F

Growing season (days)221d 208d

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

Outdoors & history

SouthsideMena

Trails—1 mi

Conserved land—0.8%

Settled—1896

National Register places—11

Archive photos—12

Famous people born here—10

Community

SouthsideMena

Library hours a week—42 hrs

Colleges in town—1

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined1 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

167 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

SouthsideAR MenaAR

Southside ↔ Mena167 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

SouthsideMena

People

Population 4,246Lowest 5,582Highest

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

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

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

Kids under 18 30%±7.4Highest AR: 23.1% 18.7%±4.2Lowest 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+ 15.9%±4Lowest AR: 17.6% 20.9%±3.8Highest 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+ 19.4%Highest AR: 25.7% 18.4%Lowest AR: 25.7%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 3.6%±2.2Highest AR: 5.1% 2.3%±1.6Lowest 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 $65,655±$15kHighest 8% above AR $47,428±$8kLowest 22% below 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 $151,300±$19kHighest 20% below AR $132,900±$19kLowest 29% 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 $843±$48Highest 11% below AR $639±$118Lowest 33% below AR

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

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 35.3%±20.4Highest AR: 44.8% 26.9%±10.4Lowest 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 17.5%Highest AR: 16% 13.9%Lowest AR: 16%

Housing

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

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

Getting to work

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

Work from home 5.3%±3.4Highest AR: 8.8% 2.4%±2.2Lowest 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 12.9%Lowest 46.2%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 4.8 miHighest 3.3 miLowest

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

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

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in MenaFew work in Southside

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0%Lowest 0.8%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 0.0 miLowest 1.4 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 miLowest 0.2 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0Lowest 1Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 20.7Lowest 66.9Highest

Schools

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

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

High school in town Southside Charter High SchoolMena High School

Students per teacherat that high school 6.4Lowest 6.7Highest

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.

Southside neighborsTown Square →

T Weaver · 1w

Southside School Memories

1 neighbor in Southside can answer.

Mena neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Mena’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Southside and Mena

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Bordering Southside

+ Compare

Salado507 people · $222K homes

+ Compare

Desha679 people · $118K homes

Towns like Southside

+ Compare

Sheridan5,165 people · $188K homes

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Ashdown4,164 people · $140K homes

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Gentry4,240 people · $186K homes

+ Compare

Charleston2,646 people · $156K 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.

Southside vs Mena

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 Southside and Mena

Bordering Southside

Towns like Southside

Post to Southside

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