City Crime Score
Low crime
Population
15,786
Median Income
$48,644
Home Value
$156,039
Median Age
36.0
Crime Statistics
Demographics
30.4% have a bachelor's degree or higher
Housing
Arkadelphia, AR Crime Map
Explore crime rates, safest neighborhoods, and detailed crime statistics
Arkadelphia Crime Overview: What the Data Shows
Arkadelphia, AR earns an overall crime grade of C- for 2026 — a rating that reflects real challenges in a small river city of roughly 10,670 residents where a 28% poverty rate and a median household income of just $31,643 create conditions that correlate with elevated property crime. Understanding what drives that grade — and where risk is actually concentrated — matters far more than a single letter.
Property offenses dominate the incident mix in Arkadelphia, as they do in most comparably sized Arkansas cities. Theft-related calls consistently make up the largest share of reported incidents, followed by vandalism and burglary. Violent crime exists but is proportionally smaller, concentrated in a narrower set of locations rather than spread evenly across the city. Drug-related offenses represent a meaningful secondary category, often intersecting with both property and violent incident clusters.
Neighborhood-Level Risk Patterns
Not all of Arkadelphia's 546 residents per square mile face the same exposure. The corridor closest to downtown and the commercial strips along Highway 67 sees a higher density of theft and disorder calls — consistent with retail and transient foot traffic patterns common to small-city commercial zones. By contrast, areas near Henderson State University benefit from campus security presence and active community engagement, which tends to suppress opportunistic property crime. The Lakeside area near DeGray Lake sits at lower density with fewer reported incidents, making it one of the quieter residential pockets in the city.
The historic downtown district presents a mixed picture: visible community presence and foot traffic during business hours reduce risk, but after-hours incidents — particularly vandalism — are reported more frequently than in suburban zones. Residents in lower-income blocks on the city's eastern and southern edges face statistically higher exposure to both property crime and occasional violent incidents, a pattern directly tied to the city's 28% poverty rate.
How Arkadelphia's C- Grade Breaks Down
A C- overall grade means Arkadelphia performs below the national midpoint on combined crime metrics, but it does not mean the city is uniformly dangerous. The grade reflects a weighted blend of violent and property crime rates adjusted for population. Cities with comparable poverty rates and similar population sizes — many of them small Southern college towns — cluster in the C to D range nationally, so Arkadelphia's position, while not strong, is not an outlier.
- Property Crime Component: Drags the overall grade down most significantly. Theft, burglary, and motor vehicle theft are the primary contributors.
- Violent Crime Component: Elevated relative to population size, but incident counts remain low in absolute terms given the city's small scale.
- Economic Context: A 3.2% unemployment rate is actually a relative strength — the low joblessness rate provides some stabilizing effect even as the high poverty rate signals persistent income insufficiency that correlates with crime risk.
What Recent Incident Patterns Reveal
Looking at the most recent incident data available for Arkadelphia, theft-related offenses — including shoplifting, vehicle break-ins, and residential larceny — account for the single largest share of all reported crimes, routinely representing more than half of total incident volume in any given reporting period. Burglary follows as the second most prevalent property category. Assault calls, while less frequent in raw count, make up a disproportionate share of the violent crime bucket and tend to cluster in and around a small number of recurring hotspot addresses rather than being distributed randomly.
Vandalism and property damage calls are notably common near the downtown corridor and along the Highway 67 commercial zone, suggesting that deterrence infrastructure — lighting, cameras, active storefronts — remains inconsistent in those areas. Drug-related incidents, while not always the largest category by count, appear as a co-occurring factor in a significant share of both property and violent incident reports, underscoring the role of substance-related issues in the city's broader crime picture.
Practical Safety Takeaways for Residents and Visitors
- Near Henderson State University: Generally lower risk; standard precautions around vehicle security are still warranted.
- Downtown and Highway 67 corridor: Exercise heightened awareness after dark; vehicle break-ins and theft are the primary concerns.
- DeGray Lake / Lakeside area: Among the lower-risk residential zones in the city; property crime remains the dominant (and relatively infrequent) concern.
- Citywide: Securing vehicles, not leaving valuables visible, and reporting suspicious activity to the Arkadelphia Police Department are the highest-impact individual actions residents can take.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions: Arkadelphia Crime & Safety
Is Arkadelphia safe?
Arkadelphia's overall crime grade of C- for 2026 places it below the national average, meaning residents face a moderately elevated crime environment relative to comparable U.S. cities. That said, risk is not distributed evenly. Areas near Henderson State University and the DeGray Lake / Lakeside community tend to show lower incident densities and are generally considered safer for families and daily activity. The downtown historic district is reasonably safe during daytime hours, though after-hours vandalism and theft incidents are more common there. Common-sense precautions — securing vehicles, locking doors, staying aware in commercial zones — go a long way in a city of this size.
What is the crime rate in Arkadelphia, AR?
Arkadelphia carries a C- overall crime grade in 2026. Property crime is the dominant driver of that rating, with theft-related offenses accounting for the majority of all reported incidents — often more than half of total incident volume in recent reporting periods. Burglary and motor vehicle theft follow. Violent crime, while present and proportionally elevated for a city of 10,670 people, remains low in absolute count terms. The city's 28% poverty rate is the single strongest socioeconomic correlate of its crime profile, while the relatively low 3.2% unemployment rate provides a partial counterweight.
Which neighborhoods in Arkadelphia have the lowest crime?
Based on available incident distribution data, the areas around Henderson State University and the Lakeside community near DeGray Lake consistently show lower reported crime densities. The university area benefits from campus security infrastructure and an engaged residential population. The Lakeside zone's lower density and suburban character reduce exposure to the opportunistic property crimes that concentrate in higher-traffic commercial corridors. The historic downtown district offers community visibility during business hours but sees more after-hours incidents than the above areas.
What types of crime are most common in Arkadelphia?
Theft — including shoplifting, vehicle break-ins, and residential larceny — is consistently the most reported crime category in Arkadelphia, typically representing the majority of all incident volume. Burglary is the second most prevalent property offense. Among violent crimes, assault is the most frequently reported type, though it clusters in a small number of recurring locations rather than occurring citywide. Vandalism is notably common in the downtown and Highway 67 commercial corridor. Drug-related offenses appear as a co-occurring factor in a significant share of both property and violent incidents, reflecting the role of substance issues in the city's broader crime environment.
Is Arkadelphia a good place to live given its crime grade?
A C- crime grade is a real consideration, but it exists alongside genuine quality-of-life strengths. Arkadelphia offers a median home value of $115,402 and a median rent of $588 — both well below national averages — making it financially accessible. The 3.2% unemployment rate reflects a functioning local economy anchored partly by Henderson State University. Natural amenities like DeGray Lake add recreational value. For households that prioritize affordability and small-town character and are willing to be intentional about neighborhood selection — gravitating toward the university area or Lakeside — Arkadelphia can be a workable choice. The high poverty rate and below-average crime grade are genuine challenges that prospective residents should weigh honestly.
How does Arkadelphia's crime compare to other Arkansas cities?
Among small Arkansas cities, Arkadelphia's C- grade reflects a crime environment that is worse than the national midpoint but not dramatically out of step with peer cities that share similar poverty rates and economic profiles. Cities with comparable population sizes and poverty levels across the South frequently land in the C to D grade range. Arkadelphia is not among Arkansas's highest-crime cities in absolute terms, but its per-capita rates — particularly for property crime — exceed what you'd find in more affluent small cities. Its 28% poverty rate is the most direct predictor of where it lands in state and national comparisons.
Surrounding Cities
Arkadelphia Zip Codes
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