Census: Centerton Arkansas’ fastest-growing city, Bentonville second fastest

Centerton remains the fastest-growing city in Arkansas among cities with at least 20,000 people, according to new population estimates. The city’s 7.2% growth rate is the 31st-fastest in the United States.

On Thursday (May 15), the U.S. Census Bureau released city population and county housing unit estimates as of July 1, 2024.

Alison Wright, data center division head of the Arkansas Economic Development Institute (AEDI), said the new estimates were similar to the previous ones, with Centerton remaining the state’s fastest-growing city. She said the percentage growth rate wasn’t as high this year, but “7% is still pretty good.”

Centerton was the sixth-fastest growing city in the United States, based on 2023 population estimates. Since then, the city added 1,721 people, resulting in a population of 25,745 in 2024, up from 24,024 in 2023. Centerton had the state’s second-highest numeric population change from 2023 to 2024. Wright attributed the growth to a rise in housing units, on which the Census Bureau bases its estimates.

“People are wanting to move there, and if there’s available housing, that’s going to draw people in,” she said.

The new estimates show Bentonville is the second-fastest growing city in Arkansas, with a 3.5% growth rate from 2023 to 2024. It added 2,081 people, and its population rose to 61,791 in 2024 from 59,710 in 2023. The city’s numeric change was the highest in Arkansas.

Bentonville experienced the fastest population growth in Arkansas from 2020 to 2024, with a 14% growth rate. The city added 7,575 people during this period. It was the 113th-fastest growing U.S. city over the period.

Bella Vista had the second-quickest population growth in Arkansas from 2020 to 2024, with a 10.6% growth rate. The city added 3,192 people over the period, resulting in a population of 33,274 in 2024. Bella Vista also was the third-fastest growing city from 2023 to 2024, with a growth rate of 2.4%.

According to AEDI-compiled Census data, which includes Arkansas cities with a population of at least 1,000, Pea Ridge was the fastest-growing, with a 17% growth rate from 2023 to 2024. Its population increased from 8,709 in 2023 to 10,190 in 2024. Over the period, it added 1,481 people, the fourth-largest numeric change in Arkansas.

The AEDI-compiled data also show that Highfill and Tontitown were the second- and third-fastest-growing cities in the state, among cities with at least 1,000 people.

Highfill’s growth rate was 15.2%, and Tontitown’s was 7.9%. Highfill’s population rose to 2,793 from 2,424, while Tontitown’s population increased to 7,941 from 7,358. Just behind Centerton’s 7.2% growth rate was Farmington, with a 7% growth rate. Farmington’s population increased to 10,473 from 9,786.

Wright said some of the smaller cities are starting to grow, such as Wooster, north of Conway, in Faulkner County. Among cities with at least 1,000 people, Wooster was the state’s ninth fastest-growing city, with a 4.2% growth rate. Its population rose to 1,101 from 1,057. Just ahead of Wooster is Calico Rock in Izard County, with a 4.3% growth rate. Calico Rock’s population increased to 2,021 from 1,937.

Among the fastest-growing cities with a population of at least 1,000, seven of the top 10 are in Benton or Washington counties, said Wright, “which is not surprising because … Benton County’s housing unit population is the highest in Arkansas. … So they’re growing, and … if people are already wanting to move to the area, and there’s available housing, then you’re going to get more people in those cities.”

Little Rock remained the most populous city in Arkansas and is the 121st largest U.S. city. Its population rose by 0.3% to 204,774 in 2024 from 204,235 in 2023.

The population of Fayetteville, the state’s second most populous city, rose by 1.6% to 103,134 from 101,511. The city had the state’s third-highest numeric change, adding 1,623 people from 2023 to 2024. From 2020 to 2024, Fayetteville was the fourth-fastest growing city in Arkansas with a 9.4% growth rate. The city added 8,823 people over the period.

Fort Smith, the third most populous city in Arkansas, gained population in 2024 after its population fell, based on 2023 estimates. The city’s population increased by 0.7% to 90,507 in 2024 from 89,859 in 2023. The population of Jonesboro increased by 1.7% to 82,384 in 2024 from 80,976 in 2023.

Arkansas’ population grew 0.6% between 2023 and 2024.

NATIONWIDE GROWTH
Among cities with at least 20,000 people, Princeton, Texas, a Dallas suburb, was the fastest-growing U.S. city in 2024. The population of Princeton increased by 30.6% to 37,019 in 2024 from 2023. New York had the largest population gain, adding 87,184 people in 2024. The population of the most populous U.S. city rose to 8.47 million.

Most U.S. cities on average experienced population growth from 2023 to 2024 with Southern and Western cities seeing “accelerated growth,” according to the Census Bureau. Some cities in the Northeast and Midwest had their first population increase in recent years.

“Many population growth rates reversed or saw major changes between 2023 and 2024,” said Crystal Delbé, a statistician in the Census Bureau’s Population Division. “Cities in the Northeast that had experienced population declines in 2023 are now experiencing significant population growth, on average. In fact, cities of all sizes, in all regions, showed faster growth and larger gains than in 2023, except for small cities in the South, whose average population growth rate remained the same.”

HOUSING UNITS
Housing units in Arkansas rose by 0.86% to 1.42 million in 2024 from 1.4 million in 2023. Housing units have increased by 3.86% from 1.36 million in 2020.

Benton County has the fastest growth in housing units and the second-highest number of units in Arkansas. Its 3.6% growth rate is the 29th-fastest in the United States. The county added 4,593 housing units from 2023 to 2024, rising from 127,274 to 131,867. From 2020 to 2024, the county experienced the 35th-fastest growth rate in the United States, with a 16.6% growth rate. Benton County added 18,778 housing units over the period.

Wright said out of the more than 3,000 U.S. counties, this is a “high ranking.” According to the Census Bureau, Benton County was the only Arkansas county ranked among the 100 fastest-growing U.S. counties with at least 5,000 housing units.

She said Marion County in north-central Arkansas had the state’s second-highest growth rate at 1.9%, tied with Washington County’s growth rate. Marion County’s housing units rose to 10,103 in 2024 from 9,915 in 2023.

“It just hasn’t caught my radar before,” Wright said. “When I look into the cities that are in Marion County, none of them are really booming. So I think that might be in what we call balance of the county, which is outside of the city limits within the county.”

Pulaski County has the most housing units in Arkansas, with 195,885 in 2024, up from 194,776 in 2023. Washington County has the third-highest number of units at 109,695 in 2024, up from 107,670 in 2023. Sebastian County has the fourth-highest at 58,173, up from 57,863. Craighead County has the eighth most at 50,801, up from 49,915.

Following are the population estimates for the 10 most populous cities in Arkansas:
Little Rock
2020: 202,607
2021: 202,141
2022: 203,416
2023: 204,235
2024: 204,774

Fayetteville
2020: 94,784
2021: 97,298
2022: 99,872
2023: 101,511
2024: 103,134

Fort Smith
2020: 89,159
2021: 89,411
2022: 90,167
2023: 89,859
2024: 90,507

Springdale:
2020: 87,329
2021: 87,644
2022: 88,059
2023: 88,507
2024: 89,368

Jonesboro
2020: 78,841
2021: 78,767
2022: 79,741
2023: 80,976
2024: 82,384

Rogers:
2020: 70,360
2021: 71,383
2022: 73,164
2023: 74,353
2024: 75,639

Conway
2020: 64,364
2021: 65,936
2022: 67,685
2023: 69,531
2024: 70,711

North Little Rock
2020: 64,674
2021: 64,168
2022: 64,674
2023: 64,655
2024: 64,498

Bentonville
2020: 54,819
2021: 56,929
2022: 58,030
2023: 59,710
2024: 61,791

Pine Bluff
2020: 40,974
2021: 40,338
2022: 39,609
2023: 38,985
2024: 38,785

Following are the estimates for the 10 counties with the most housing units in Arkansas:
Pulaski
2020: 190,891
2021: 191,958
2022: 193,655
2023: 194,776
2024: 195,885

Benton
2020: 114,004
2021: 118,157
2022: 122,373
2023: 127,274
2024: 131,867

Washington
2020: 101,219
2021: 103,083
2022: 105,643
2023: 107,670
2024: 109,695

Sebastian
2020: 56,825
2021: 57,147
2022: 57,474
2023: 57,863
2024: 58,173

Faulkner
2020: 51,790
2021: 52,692
2022: 53,666
2023: 54,798
2024: 55,402

Saline
2020: 51,970
2021: 52,449
2022: 53,028
2023: 53,497
2024: 53,820

Garland
2020: 52,355
2021: 52,481
2022: 52,898
2023: 53,018
2024: 53,107

Craighead
2020: 46,939
2021: 47,864
2022: 48,903
2023: 49,915
2024: 50,801

White
2020: 33,301
2021: 33,484
2022: 33,723
2023: 34,412
2024: 34,649

Lonoke
2020: 30,203
2021: 30,625
2022: 30,926
2023: 31,194
2024: 31,538

In June, the Census Bureau will release estimates of the July 1, 2024, population by age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin for the nation, states, metros and counties.