Little Rock, AR Crime Map

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions: Little Rock, AR Crime & Safety (2026)

How safe is Little Rock overall, and what does the data show?

Little Rock earns an overall crime grade of C- in 2026, reflecting a mixed but navigable safety picture across its 62 analyzed neighborhoods. The good news: 58% of neighborhoods (36 out of 62) carry an A or B grade, meaning the majority of Little Rock's residential areas fall into the lower-crime tier. Specifically, 32.3% of neighborhoods earned an A grade and 25.8% earned a B grade. On the other end, only 16% of neighborhoods are rated D or F — that's 10 out of 62 areas. The remaining 25.8% sit at a C grade, representing moderate crime levels. For a city of roughly 446,800 residents, that distribution means most people living in planned residential zones are in relatively safe surroundings, provided they understand which pockets carry elevated risk.

What is the crime rate in Little Rock, AR, and how does it break down by grade?

Little Rock's 2026 crime landscape, graded across 62 neighborhoods, breaks down as follows: 20 neighborhoods (32.3%) earned an A, 16 neighborhoods (25.8%) earned a B, 16 neighborhoods (25.8%) earned a C, 9 neighborhoods (14.5%) earned a D, and 1 neighborhood (1.6%) earned an F. The city's overall grade of C- is pulled down by concentrated higher-crime zones — particularly Hope (grade F+), Midtown (grade D-), and Downtown Little Rock (grade D+) — rather than by broad city-wide deterioration. This means the aggregate grade somewhat overstates risk for residents in the majority of neighborhoods, which individually perform at B or better.

What are the safest neighborhoods in Little Rock in 2026?

The safest neighborhoods in Little Rock all carry A+ or A grades and tend to be located in the western and northwestern parts of the metro area. The top performers are:

• Secluded Hills — Grade A+, median income $192,350
• River Ridge — Grade A+, median income $284,945
• Pleasant Valley — Grade A+, median income $171,880, population ~2,743
• Chenal Valley — Grade A+, median income $148,412, population ~8,049 (the largest A+ neighborhood)
• West Pulaski County — Grade A, median income $109,412, population ~6,243
• Woodlands Edge — Grade A, median income $137,057
• Heights — Grade A, median income $114,312, population ~3,886
• Pankey — Grade A, median income $107,423
• Leawood — Grade A, median income $98,317
• Otter Creek — Grade A, median income $80,541

Notably, Chenal Valley and West Pulaski County offer A-tier safety at scale — both have populations above 6,000 — making them practical choices for families, not just small enclaves. Otter Creek stands out as the most accessible A-rated neighborhood by income, with a median household income of $80,541, closer to the city's median of $53,620.

Which neighborhoods in Little Rock have the highest crime rates?

The neighborhoods with the highest crime concern in Little Rock's 2026 data are concentrated in a relatively small portion of the city. Hope carries the only F-range grade in the entire dataset of 62 neighborhoods, making it a statistical outlier. Midtown earns a D- and Downtown Little Rock a D+ — both in the bottom 16% of neighborhoods citywide. Forest Hills and Santa Monica each grade C-, sitting at the lower end of the moderate tier. Together, D and F neighborhoods represent just 16.1% of the 62 neighborhoods analyzed, which means concentrated higher-crime activity is geographically limited rather than spread across the city. Visitors and new residents should use the crime map to understand proximity to these zones when evaluating housing or commute routes.

Is Little Rock a good place to live given its crime statistics?

For many residents, yes — with context. Little Rock's median home value of $174,102 and median household income of $53,620 make it significantly more affordable than most U.S. capitals, and 58% of its neighborhoods earn an A or B crime grade. The city's unemployment rate of 4.2% is near the national average, though the 15.3% poverty rate does reflect economic strain in certain corridors that correlates with higher-crime zones like Hope and Midtown. Families prioritizing safety alongside affordability often gravitate toward Chenal Valley (A+, ~8,000 residents) or West Pulaski County (A, ~6,200 residents), where both grades and population scale suggest stable, established communities. The overall C- city grade is real, but it reflects the weight of a small number of high-crime neighborhoods — the majority of Little Rock's residential landscape grades out considerably better.

How does neighborhood income correlate with safety grades in Little Rock?

The correlation between income and safety grade is strong in Little Rock's 2026 data. All four A+ neighborhoods — Secluded Hills ($192,350), River Ridge ($284,945), Pleasant Valley ($171,880), and Chenal Valley ($148,412) — have median incomes that are 2.8x to 5.3x the city median of $53,620. Even the lower-income A-rated neighborhoods like Otter Creek ($80,541) and Pankey ($107,423) sit well above the city median. Conversely, the F- and D-rated areas tend to align with the city's higher poverty concentrations. This pattern is useful for interpreting the crime map: neighborhoods with median incomes near or below the city average warrant closer inspection of their specific grade before drawing conclusions, while high-income western neighborhoods consistently deliver top-tier safety ratings.

How many neighborhoods were analyzed in Little Rock's 2026 crime map?

Little Rock's 2026 crime map covers 62 neighborhoods across the metro area. Of those, 20 earned an A grade (32.3%), 16 earned a B (25.8%), 16 earned a C (25.8%), 9 earned a D (14.5%), and 1 earned an F (1.6%). The city-wide safety rating is classified as Moderate (C), with an overall crime grade of C-. This granular neighborhood-level analysis is more useful than a single city-wide number — knowing that Chenal Valley grades A+ while Downtown Little Rock grades D+ allows residents, renters, and homebuyers to make precise, data-informed decisions rather than relying on the blended city average alone.