CitytisticsShortlist

Cost of living, pay and housing

35.72° N · 91.63° W · GEOID 0565630

Southside

Independence County, Arkansas · part of the Batesville, AR metro

Limited data population under 5,000

ArkansasSouthside, ARSouthsideSouthside

The short answer

Southside is home to 4,246 people. Median household income is $65,655 a year and median rent is $843 a month, 15.4% of income (a ratio of two medians, not any one household's burden). Rent pressure is lighter than in most places. The median home is valued at $151,300, about 2.3x annual median household income.

Median gross rent
$843
38% below the median place
Median household income
$65,655
18% below the median place
Median home value
$151,300
53% below the median place
Unemployment
3.9%
21% below the median place

Compared with the median of the 6,645 places we track. The bundle was checked 2026-11-14; each measure may refer to an older release.

What stands out about Southside

  • Between the 2019 and 2024 surveys, household income rose 13.2% a year while rent rose 1.7%, so pay gained on rent more than in 98% of the 2,476 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the 2nd-lowest of 71 Arkansas places.
  • Only 5% of workers mostly work from home, fewer than in 91% of places its size.
  • The median home is worth 2.3 years of the median household's income, fewer than in 90% of places its size.
  • Only 35% of renter households spend 30% or more of income on rent, a lower share than in 86% of places its size.
  • Median rent is $843 a month, lower than in 83% of places its size.
01

Moving to Southside

Independence County gains about 2.8 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.

Moved in1,597
Moved out1,516
Net+81

Where people come from and where they go, top counties

Sharp County, AR245147+98
White County, AR101145−44
Izard County, AR6461+3

Within Arkansas, other states or abroad

Arrivals
Leavers
Within ArkansasOther states

Income per tax return

Arrivals$47K
Leavers$46K

People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of Independence County; flows under 20 returns are not published.

Who moves here
4.8% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 2.3% from another state. County figure.
Who arrives and who leaves
Households moving into Independence County report $46,600 a year in income on average; those leaving, $46,200.
Income you would need
$33,700 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
Rent or buy
Median rent is $843 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $1,104 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $151,300.
Getting to work
20 minutes each way on average; 5.3% work from home.
If it is close but not quite
Sparta, WI matches it on character. Compare the two
Income of households moving out7
$46,222
34% below the median place
Income of households moving in7
$46,607
34% below the median place
Net movers per 1,000 people7
2.8
above the median place (median -0.6)
All 5 moving measures
MeasureSouthsideAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Moved here in the past year1County figure4.8%16% below
Moved from another state1County figure2.3%18% above
Net movers per 1,000 people7County figure2.8above (median -0.6)
Income of households moving in7County figure$46,60734% below
Income of households moving out7County figure$46,22234% below
02

What it costs to live here

Property tax paid (median) is $820, 75% below the median place.

Southside15.4%
Typical place20.4%

Share of the median household income that goes to the median rent. Above 30% is the usual stress line.

Income needed to rent
$33,720
a year, at the 30% line
Rent to income
15.4%
25% below the median place
Home price to income
2.3x
39% below the median place

Could you afford it?

The median rent would take
15%
comfortably under the 30% line
Left after rent, in US prices
$55,900
a year, prices not adjusted
Vs the typical household here
Same
as the median household

Uses the median rent in Southside, $843 a month. It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in Southside.

Sponsored · exampleMoving to Southside? Compare quotes from licensed movers. No partner is signed yet. Sponsored offers are always labelled and never change the data.
Property tax paid (median)1
$820
75% below the median place
Owner costs with a mortgage1
$1,104
41% below the median place
Renters paying 30%+1
35.3%
30% below the median place
All 15 cost and housing measures
MeasureSouthsideAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median gross rent1$84338% below
Rent to income115.4%25% below
Property tax rate10.5%41% below
Home price to income12.3x39% below
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms2County figure$93442% below
HUD area median income3County figure$70,70034% below
Property tax paid (median)1$82075% below
Median home value1$151,30053% below
Home prices, 1-year change4County figure2.4%25% below
Home prices, 5-year change4County figure47.3%8% below
Homeownership165.8%1% below
Renters paying 30%+135.3%30% below
Owner costs with a mortgage1$1,10441% below
Vacant homes1County figure12.8%81% above
Median year built119881% above
03

Work and pay

Works from home is 5.3%, 58% below the median place.

Works from home1
5.3%
58% below the median place
Income per person1
$26,291
34% below the median place
Mean commute1
20 min
21% below the median place
All 9 work and pay measures
MeasureSouthsideAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median household income1$65,65518% below
Income per person1$26,29134% below
Unemployment1County figure3.9%21% below
Average annual pay5County figure$51,30022% below
Pay growth, 1 year5County figure5.5%49% above
Jobs5County figure17,75288% below
Poverty rate117.5%62% above
Mean commute120 min21% below
Works from home15.3%58% below
04

Who lives here

No health insurance is 15.7%, 145% above the median place.

No health insurance1
15.7%
145% above the median place
High school or higher1
82.8%
10% below the median place
Bachelor's or higher1
19.4%
40% below the median place

More about who lives here, against the typical place

Household size2.8 +13%
Homes with broadband90.6% −2%
Median age37.5 −4%
All 9 people measures
MeasureSouthsideAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Population14,2466646th largest
Population change since 20206-0.3%below (median 1.1%)
Median age137.54% below
Bachelor's or higher119.4%40% below
High school or higher182.8%10% below
Household size12.813% above
Born abroad1County figure4.0%55% below
No health insurance115.7%145% above
Homes with broadband190.6%2% below
05

Life in Southside

1 site is on the National Register of Historic Places.

  • Titan II ICBM Launch Complex 374-7 Site listed 2000

Out the door, against the typical place

Parks per 10k residents0.0 −100%
Playgrounds per 10k0.0 −100%
Grocery stores per 10k4.7 2.2×
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k0.0 −100%
Libraries per 10k0.0 −100%
Named paths and bike trails0 km −100%
Bus and rail stops per sq mi0.0 −100%

Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)

Restaurants and bars17.0 −18%
Shops41.1 +36%
Arts, recreation and fitness2.1 −49%
Doctors' offices and clinics22.3 +10%
Child care centers1.3 −43%

Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.

Public schools11
4
56% below the median place
Students per teacher11
12.9
16% below the median place
Public school students11
2,193
55% below the median place
All 16 schools and local life measures
MeasureSouthsideAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Public schools11456% below
Public school students112,19355% below
Students per teacher1112.916% below
Restaurants and bars per 10k8County figure17.018% below
Shops per 10k8County figure41.136% above
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k8County figure2.149% below
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k8County figure22.310% above
Child care centers per 10k8County figure1.343% below
Parks per 10k90.0below (median 10.2)
Playgrounds per 10k90.0below (median 9.4)
Grocery stores per 10k94.7122% above
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k90.0below (median 11.2)
Libraries per 10k90.0below (median 0.9)
Named paths and bike trails90.0below (median 2.0)
Transit stops per sq mi90.0below (median 0.2)
National Register listings10192% below
06

Safety, weather and risk

Natural hazard risk is 69.1, 25% below the median place.

No crime figure yet. Either the city police department did not report to the FBI for the latest year, or our monthly fetch has not reached Southside. Larger places are fetched first.

Natural hazard risk13
69.1
25% below the median place
Annual precipitation12
51.3 in
17% above the median place
July average high12
90°F
4% above the median place
All 9 weather and risk measures
MeasureSouthsideAmong 6,645 placesVs median
July average high12County figure90°F4% above
January average low12County figure29°F14% above
Average temperature12County figure60°F9% above
Annual precipitation12County figure51.3 in17% above
Natural hazard risk13County figure69.125% below
Hurricane risk13County figure50.728% below
Tornado risk13County figure89.210% above
Wildfire risk13County figure70.515% above
Heat wave risk13County figure76.415% below
08

Southside in 2030: where the trends point

If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 15% of the median income in 2030, about the same as 15% now.

Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases.

MeasureLatest2030 projectionLikely rangeAvg. per year
Median rent$843/mo (2024)$1,060/mo$870 to $1,300/mo+4.0%
Median household income$65,655 (2024)$85,500$72,500 to $101,500+4.5%
Median home value$151,300 (2024)$222,000$161,000 to $305,000+6.6%
Population4,274 (2025)4,3104,140 to 4,500+0.2%

The median home would be worth 2.6 years of the median income in 2030, against 2.3 now.

A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.

09

Places like Southside

The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.

PlaceRentIncome
Sparta, WI$861$64,973Compare
Greenville, MI$894$63,285Compare
Greensburg, IN$859$62,655Compare
Monroe, MI$909$59,813Compare
Monroe, MIGreensburg, INGreenville, MISparta, WISouthside, ARSouthsideSpartaGreensburgMonroeSouthsideSpartaGreensburgMonroe

Common questions

Is Southside a good place to live?

It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. Between the 2019 and 2024 surveys, household income rose 13.2% a year while rent rose 1.7%, so pay gained on rent more than in 98% of the 2,476 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the 2nd-lowest of 71 Arkansas places. Only 5% of workers mostly work from home, fewer than in 91% of places its size. On cost, space and class size it scores 85 out of 100 for families. See how it ranks with your own weights.

Is Southside expensive to live in?

The median rent takes 15.4% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a lighter load here than usual. The median home is valued at $151,300.

What salary do you need to live in Southside?

To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $33,720 a year. Work it out from your current city.

What places are similar to Southside?

On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Sparta, WI, Greenville, MI, Greensburg, IN and Monroe, MI.

Sources and methods

The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.

  1. American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
  2. Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
  3. Income Limits · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2026
  4. House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  5. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
  6. Population Estimates · US Census Bureau · Vintage 2025
  7. SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
  8. County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
  9. OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
  10. National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
  11. Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
  12. 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
  13. National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps

Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).

What stands out compares Southside with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for Southside itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/southside-arkansas

Citytistics. “Southside, Arkansas.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/southside-arkansas/

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.