State Profile
Arkansas is a Natural for Business, with the No. 1 business climate in the South, according to Southern Business and Development magazine, December 2002.
Expansion Management magazine lists two Arkansas MSAs among the "50 Hottest Cities" in the country - based on criteria such as business environment, workforce quality, operating costs, incentive programs, worker training programs, and ease of working with local officials. The Memphis MSA ranked fifth and the Little Rock MSA ranked 22nd. The list, released in January 2004, was compiled from a survey of more than 75 site consultants who ranked America’s 331 metro areas.
The cost of living in Arkansas is another attractive attribute. Based on the ACCRA Cost of Living Indices, the average cost of living for all of Arkansas’s MSAs was well below the national average. Businesses also enjoy low tax obligations through a variety of incentives, exemptions, credits and refunds.
Nestlé USA’s 1,000-employee, $200-million plant announcement in Jonesboro was the largest food-processing location decision in the world in 2001 and one of the most notable announcements in the southern U.S. in the past 10 years.
Our diversity shows in other recent locations and expansions:
- Manufacturing: Hino Motors, DENSO, Eakas, Superior Industries, Champion
- Food Processing: Nestlé (the largest location announcement in the nation in 2001), Frito-Lay, Gerber, Pinnacle Foods
- Aeronautics: Lockheed Martin, Raytheon
- Distribution: Infinity Intermodal, Smith Wholesale Drugs
- Info-Tech: GC Services, ARVEST, IntelliTrans
Population
| 2000 Census | 2010 Projection |
| United States |
281,421,906 |
308,935,581 |
| Arkansas |
2,673,400 |
2,875,039 |
| Major Urban Centers Population (2005 Estimate) |
| Hot Springs MSA |
93,551 |
| Pine Bluff MSA |
104,865 |
| Jonesboro MSA |
110,084 |
| Texarkana MSA |
133,805 |
| Fort Smith MSA |
284,944 |
| Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers MSA |
405,101 |
| Little Rock-North Little Rock MSA |
643,272 |
| Memphis, Tennessee-Arkansas-Mississippi MSA |
1,260,905 |
| Population by Age |
| 2000 Census | 2005 Estimate |
| 0-19 |
760,509 |
754,220 |
| 20-34 |
534,443 |
566,318 |
| 35-44 |
398,127 |
385,217 |
| 45-54 |
349,519 |
384,100 |
| 55-64 |
256,783 |
304,849 |
| 65+ |
374,019 |
384,450 |
