“Counties like it” are metro-area counties with a similar population and a median household income near Faulkner County's ($68,543). Ahead or behind means more than 15% better or worse than the typical one.
Ahead of similar counties on 2 measures:
Behind similar counties on 4 measures:
About the same on 6: life expectancy, adults under 65 without health insurance, residents per primary care doctor, children in poverty, unemployment, households with broadband internet.
| Measure | Faulkner County | Typical similar county |
|---|---|---|
| Population change, 2020–2024 | 6.3% 123,820 → 131,611 | 2.3% |
| School spending per student (day-to-day costs) | $11,091 | $13,711 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2024 population estimates; Census Annual Survey of School System Finances (school year 2023), current spending divided by enrollment across the districts based in the county.
At the end of 2024, Faulkner County's general fund held $18,014,774 — enough to cover about 10.1 months of that year's spending. Five years earlier (2020) it held $8,086,493. Among the 75 Arkansas counties whose state audits include this five-year schedule, that ranks 40 of 75 for months covered; the typical county held about 10.6 months.
Source: each county's state audit, “Schedule of Selected Information for the Last Five Years — General Fund” (unaudited schedule). Latest years differ by county (2023, 2024). A larger reserve isn't automatically better or worse — it can be savings for a planned project, or money not yet spent. The year-by-year table.
“Counties like it” means other counties in a metro area with a similar number of people and a similar median household income (about $68,543 here). Comparing with them, instead of the whole country, shows what similar places have managed. Faulkner County is furthest behind on jail population per 100,000 residents 15–64, residents per mental health provider, food insecurity.
| Measure | Faulkner County | Typical similar county | Doing best among similar counties |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drug overdose deaths per 100,000 ahead of similar counties | 15.3 | 26.5 | Story County, IA 7.7 Centre County, PA 9.4 Johnson County, IA 10.1 |
| Life expectancy about the same | 75.7 years | 75.8 years | Benton County, OR 82.4 years Johnson County, IA 82.0 years Story County, IA 81.5 years |
| Adults under 65 without health insurance about the same | 7.6% | 7.9% | Berkshire County, MA 2.8% Schenectady County, NY 4.5% Dubuque County, IA 4.6% |
| Residents per primary care doctor about the same | 1,691 | 1,758 | Johnson County, IA 521 Washington County, TN 539 Eau Claire County, WI 705 |
| Residents per mental health provider behind similar counties | 514 | 390 | Benton County, OR 73 Berkshire County, MA 99 Penobscot County, ME 150 |
| Children in poverty about the same | 15.4% | 15.5% | Story County, IA 9.2% Wood County, OH 9.3% Missoula County, MT 9.4% |
| Food insecurity behind similar counties | 16.6% | 13.4% | Sheboygan County, WI 9.3% Marathon County, WI 9.8% Dubuque County, IA 10.1% |
| Households with severe housing problems behind similar counties | 15.7% | 13.4% | Fond du Lac County, WI 8.6% Marathon County, WI 9.3% Clark County, IN 9.8% |
| Unemployment about the same | 2.9% | 3.3% | Pennington County, SD 1.9% Morgan County, AL 2.0% Elmore County, AL 2.1% |
| Households with broadband internet about the same | 92.7% | 88.8% | DeKalb County, IL 92.7% Barrow County, GA 92.7% Benton County, OR 92.6% |
| Jail population per 100,000 residents 15–64 behind similar counties | 568 | 300 | Johnson County, IA 63 Story County, IA 67 Benton County, OR 68 |
| Bridges rated poor ahead of similar counties | 1.4% | 4.9% | Barrow County, GA 0.0% Ector County, TX 0.0% Houston County, GA 0.0% |
“Behind” or “ahead” means more than 15% worse or better than the typical (median) similar county; small differences can be noise. Sources: County Health Rankings 2025 (health, money and internet), Vera Institute (jail, latest year from 2015 on), FHWA National Bridge Inventory 2025, HUD (metro areas), Census 2024 population. What has worked elsewhere on each of these.
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
Related: By the numbers · The money trail · Audits · What has worked. Spot an error? Report it.