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City profile

Searcy, Arkansas

Searcy, Arkansas is part of the nationwide 5,000-plus population catalog, with Census population and ACS demographics, housing, income, education, employment, internet, and commute estimates.

Population 24,351

July 1, 2025 Census estimate.

Growth +6.15%

Change from the April 1, 2020 estimates base to July 1, 2025.

Median rent $905

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B25064 median gross rent estimate.

Median income $52,170

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B19013 median household income estimate.

Bachelor's+ 29.6%

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B15003 estimate for population age 25 and over.

Jobs 6.1%

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B23025 city civilian unemployment; BLS state unemployment is 4.3% for June 2026 (preliminary).

Poverty 18.8%

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B17001 share below poverty among people whose poverty status is determined.

Median age 32.4 years

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B01002 median age estimate.

Age 20-24 13.6%

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B01001 share of residents age 20 through 24.

Renter share 46.4%

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B25003 renter-occupied share of occupied housing units.

Housing vacancy 12.4%

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B25002 vacant share of all housing units. This is not the rental vacancy rate.

Household broadband 89.3%

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B28002 household broadband-subscription share; verify provider and address-level service separately.

Work from home 5.6%

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B08301 share of workers age 16+ who worked from home.

Commute 18.0 min

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B08303 approximate mean from travel-time buckets for workers who did not work from home.

Grad fit 72/100

Good short-list for 22-25 college grads; medium-high source confidence.

Cost pressure rent watch

ACS gross rent is 20.8% of median household income; compare utilities, tax, insurance, and personal debt separately.

Crime check standard city check

City crime rates are not scored yet; verify FBI CDE and local police data before choosing a neighborhood.

Personal budget check

Can I afford Searcy?

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Your monthly rent target $0

Lower of your housing-share limit and remaining 50% needs budget.

Searcy ACS median rent $905

2020-2024 ACS median gross rent, not a live listing quote.

Planning result Enter your budget

Adjust the inputs to compare your target with the city baseline.

Planning estimate only. Gross salary is before tax. Verify current rent, utilities, insurance, deposits, taxes, debt terms, and take-home pay.

Recent grad lens

What matters for a 22-25 year old college grad

72/100 · good short-list
Career sectors regional employers, healthcare, local services

Use these sectors for first-pass job-board and LinkedIn searches.

Job market 6.1%

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates city civilian unemployment; BLS state unemployment is 4.3% for June 2026 preliminary.

Schooling 29.6%

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates bachelor's-or-higher share for age 25+. Check nearby universities, community colleges, certificates, and employer-paid education benefits.

Young-adult presence 13.6%

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates share of residents age 20 through 24. This is a peer-presence signal, not a measure of social fit.

Cost pressure 20.8%

ACS rent-to-income baseline using $905 median gross rent and $52,170 median household income. Verify utilities, insurance, taxes, and your actual offer.

Housing baseline $905 / $188,500

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates median gross rent and owner-occupied median home value. Treat home value as a survey estimate, not a live listing price.

Poverty 18.8%

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates share below poverty. Useful context for opportunity and service access; not a neighborhood-level measure.

Crime and safety standard city check

Exact city/neighborhood rates are not scored yet; use FBI CDE, city police dashboards, and neighborhood-level checks.

Commute 18.0 min

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates approximate commute from travel-time buckets. Confirm your actual route, parking, transit frequency, and remote-work expectations.

Daily mobility 89.1% car · 0.3% transit · 5.6% home

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates worker commute-mode shares. Verify current route and service frequency.

Internet baseline 89.3%

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates household broadband-subscription share. Confirm provider, speed, price, and address-level availability before moving.

Lifestyle lower-friction city scale

Useful for social fit, networking, dating, outdoor access, and first-apartment quality of life.

Confidence medium-high

Profile combines Census population estimates, ACS 2020-2024 city/place estimates, BLS state unemployment, and transparent city/state tags.

Full profile

Searcy data coverage

verified + queued
Population 24,351

U.S. Census July 1, 2025 city estimate.

Median age 32.4 years

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B01002 median age estimate.

Age 20-24 13.6%

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B01001 share of the total population age 20 through 24.

Cost of living 20.8% rent/income

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates: ACS median gross rent divided by ACS median household income. This is a city-wide baseline, not a personal budget.

Median home value $188,500

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B25077 owner-occupied median value estimate; not a live listing-price feed.

Median rent $905

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B25064 median gross rent estimate for renter-occupied units paying cash rent.

Median household income $52,170

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B19013 median household income estimate in 2024 inflation-adjusted dollars.

Housing occupancy 12.4% vacant

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B25002 vacant share of all housing units. This is broader than rental vacancy and does not measure live availability.

Housing tenure 46.4% renter / 53.6% owner

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B25003 shares of occupied housing units.

Employment 6.1%

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B23025 city civilian unemployment estimate; labor-force participation is 54.1%. BLS state unemployment is still shown as a separate current job-market proxy.

Poverty 18.8%

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B17001 share below poverty among people whose poverty status is determined.

Crime overview standard city check

Needs FBI Crime Data Explorer and local agency caveats before any rate or safety score is shown.

Education 29.6%

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B15003 bachelor's degree or higher share for population age 25 and over. K-12 ratings still require NCES/state sources and boundary caveats.

Climate NOAA layer pending

Prioritize heat, humidity, hurricanes, flooding, and severe storms. Use NOAA normals and hazard history before comparing weather.

Commute 18.0 min

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B08303 approximate mean travel time from commute-time buckets for workers who did not work from home.

Commute modes 89.1% car · 0.3% transit · 0.3% bike · 5.6% home

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B08301 worker commute-mode shares.

Household broadband 89.3%

2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B28002 broadband-subscription share; 9.3% report no internet access. Provider, speed, and address-level service still require FCC or provider data.

Major employers regional employers, healthcare, local services

Current employer view is sector-level. Named employer lists require a sourced city/MSA employer layer.

Nearby airports FAA layer pending

Needs FAA airport records and drive-time checks.

Things to do lower-friction city scale

Current lifestyle tags are transparent place signals. Venue and recreation detail remains queued.

Relocation read

Should Searcy be on your shortlist?

Searcy has added population since the 2020 estimates base, which can point to demand, job access, housing expansion, migration inflow, or some combination of those forces.

Southern cities often require especially careful tax, insurance, heat, commute, and storm-risk checks before a move. WhereToLive.us keeps those categories separate so a reader can see what is verified and what still needs source review.

ACS adds a city-level baseline for Searcy, Arkansas: median gross rent is $905, median household income is $52,170, bachelor's-or-higher share is 29.6%, city civilian unemployment is 6.1%, and approximate commute time is 18.0 min.

For a recent college grad, the first-pass profile is 72/100: good short-list. The main career tags are regional employers, healthcare, local services, schooling access is regional college access, and the BLS state unemployment proxy is 4.3% for June 2026.

For monetization and search quality, this page answers a specific relocation query without hiding the source gaps. It gives a reliable population, ACS, and state-job baseline, then points readers toward the school-boundary, crime, weather, tax, healthcare, and lifestyle checks that usually drive move decisions.

What the current data says

Searcy, Arkansas is part of the nationwide catalog of incorporated places with at least 5,000 residents. Its July 1, 2025 Census estimate is 24,351, ranking #1,654 among unique incorporated-place names in this source pass.

The current move signal is growing, and the young-grad fit score is 72/100. This score is a transparent research shortcut, not a final recommendation. ACS 2020-2024 city/place estimates are live for demographics, rent, income, home value, housing occupancy, education, poverty, employment, household internet, and commute context. Crime, school boundaries, weather, healthcare, tax, utilities, live wages, provider-level broadband, and live listings still need source-specific refreshes before stronger advice is issued.

Housing and monthly costs

ACS rent, income, owner-occupied home value, occupancy, and tenure are live where matched. Verify current listings, deposits, utilities, insurance, parking, taxes, and roommate options in Searcy, Arkansas.

Data layer queued

Jobs and education

ACS employment and education plus BLS state unemployment are live. Verify occupation wages, current openings, employer stability, degree programs, and alumni pipelines.

Data layer queued

Safety and health

Use FBI CDE, local police, CMS, and HRSA sources for neighborhood crime, hospital access, specialists, and shortage-area checks.

Data layer queued

Climate and daily access

ACS household broadband and commute modes provide baselines. Verify NOAA climate and hazards, FEMA risk, FCC address-level broadband, airports, commute routes, and local recreation before moving.

Data layer queued

Searcy pros

  • 24,351 residents in the verified 2025 Census estimate.
  • Good short-list young-professional signal at 72/100.
  • ACS demographics, housing, income, education, poverty, employment, internet, and commute estimates are live for this city.
  • Competitive career signal from state job proxy and sector tags.
  • 29.6% bachelor's-or-higher ACS education signal.

Searcy cons and checks

  • ACS housing and income are city-wide survey estimates; verify a specific lease, salary offer, neighborhood, and listing market before deciding.
  • Standard city check is still a verification step, not a crime score.
  • 18.0 min still needs route-level commute confirmation.
  • Taxes, healthcare, utilities, provider-level broadband, and weather hazards still need source-specific layers.

Searcy research checklist

  • Compare the 2025 population estimate against nearby cities and the state shortlist.
  • Check whether population growth matches the local housing supply and commute tradeoffs.
  • Layer in verified rent, wage, school, healthcare, tax, and safety data before making a move decision.
  • Use official city, county, Census, BLS, HUD, NOAA, NCES, CMS, FCC, and state tax sources for final confirmation.

Common Searcy questions

Is Searcy growing?
Searcy, Arkansas is growing on the verified population measure, with +6.15% change from the 2020 estimates base to the 2025 estimate.
Is Searcy good for a 22-25 year old college grad?
Searcy, Arkansas currently scores 72/100 on the young-grad fit model, with a competitive career signal, 29.6% bachelor's-or-higher ACS education signal, rent watch cost-pressure label, and 18.0 min commute signal. Treat that as a shortlist signal, not a guarantee.
Is Searcy affordable?
Searcy, Arkansas has ACS median gross rent of $905 and ACS median household income of $52,170. Use this as a city-wide baseline, then verify current apartments, utilities, insurance, taxes, and your actual salary offer.
What should I verify before moving to Searcy?
Verify current rent or mortgage cost, wage expectations, commute route, school or graduate-program access, city and neighborhood crime data, healthcare access, utility costs, taxes, internet availability, and social fit using primary sources.
Does WhereToLive.us recommend Searcy?
Not as final advice. The current page is a research baseline. A recommendation requires verified affordability, occupation wages, job postings, safety, school, healthcare, tax, weather, and commute layers.

Nearby comparison queue

Use these same-region cities as a fast starting point. The comparison tool keeps the math transparent and avoids hidden scores until each data layer is verified.

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