Saline County Press Releases
Knowledgeable Staff | 42 Years of Experience | Quick, Reliable Responses
Knowledgeable Staff
42 Years of Experience
Quick, Reliable Responses
Paycheck-Friendly Places in Arkansas
There are many informative resources we look at here at Saline County Economic Development Corporation to provide you with accurate data about the area. We want you to see the potential for personal and financial growth in the Saline County area.
Who doesn’t love payday? The influx of cash makes people ecstatic, but the happiness can be interrupted by the reality of having to pay off debt, rent, and bills. As quickly as bank account balances go up, they go down just as fast, if not seemingly faster. Fear not though, there are places that are friendlier to your paycheck than others.
SmartAsset, a financial technology company, weighed top Arkansas counties based on local purchasing power, income growth, and unemployment rate. Click here to see additional tax details on the study and click here to see additional mortgage details, including methodology and an interactive map.
SmartAsset also set out to find the most paycheck-friendly places in Arkansas, and Saline County made the list:
Letter From The Mayor
To all Benton Citizens,
Just wanted to say thank you for being a positive part of our city and to let you know as the year quickly comes to an end with 3 months remaining, of the exciting things we have coming during the month of October. The month of October offers so many great activities through our parks department and other city activities, so please check our website (Bentonar.org) to get involved with them. One of the great things that they are offering is Roller Fest on October 7, which is a fun-filled day of activities at Tyndall Park. The senior center is sponsoring Old Fashion Day, October 14 in our great downtown which is always filled with a lot of great vendors in addition to all the wonderful downtown stores. Then have your little ones dress in their favorite costume and enjoy Ghost Town on October 19 in our beautiful downtown area. Of Course, you will not want to miss another opportunity for the kids to dress up and walk through the Jeepers Halloween Fest at River Center. I also want to remind you of our great Farmer’s market that occurs every Saturday Morning in our downtown area. Make sure you catch one of the many athletic events that are in Saline County. Every athletic event that our local schools supply is always exciting for the participants and the fans. We are so fortunate to live in a community that offers so much for all to do in a safe environment.
Many of you might have heard about the exciting news of our Animal Service Department which has started a fostering program with the help of a grant received from the Best Friends organization. This provides a great opportunity for families to take an animal from our Animal Services and love and care for that animal until someone is willing to adopt the animal. (Yes, we are looking for people to get involved with the foster program.) What a truly great program! While you have the animal in your foster care, please enjoy our dog parks located just to the west of River center.
As fall comes upon us, it is a great time to enjoy some of the many outdoor activities in our city. We have a beautiful river that allows for family fun as the temperatures begin to cool down, we have outdoor pickle ball courts at one of the most used parks in the state as well as tennis, basketball, disc golf, and many other activities that a family can do together. Our parks department offers over 75 different activities throughout the year, so visit our web page (Bentonar.org) to see which activities you would like to join.

I know that adult softball has started back up for a few months for those of you who would enjoy this sport. We also provide a bundle of kid activities through our park’s system. As we approach the months of family get togethers, I want to encourage each of you to take a few minutes and take a walk at Tyndall on the walking trail or around Sunset Lake which has a great walking trail. I look forward to next month when I can tell you all the exciting things we have planned for November.
Have a Blessed October.
Tom
| Rank | County | Semi-Monthly Paycheck | Purchasing Power | Unemployment Rate | Income Growth | Paycheck Friendliness Index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benton | $1,591 | 1.95x | 3.10% | 2.30% | 43.58 |
| 2 | Saline | $1,591 | 1.88x | 3.30% | 1.70% | 42.1 |
| 3 | Faulkner | $1,591 | 1.73x | 4.10% | 2.80% | 40.98 |
| 4 | Franklin | $1,591 | 1.44x | 4.40% | 5.20% | 40.87 |
| 5 | Lonoke | $1,591 | 1.78x | 3.60% | 1.00% | 39.93 |
| 6 | Little River | $1,591 | 1.44x | 4.50% | 3.70% | 39.06 |
| 7 | Randolph | $1,591 | 1.33x | 5.20% | 5.10% | 38.93 |
| 8 | Cleveland | $1,591 | 1.49x | 4.80% | 3.50% | 38.83 |
| 9 | Howard | $1,591 | 1.39x | 3.40% | 2.80% | 38.64 |
| 10 | Hot Spring | $1,591 | 1.46x | 4.20% | 2.80% | 38.39 |
Housing Market Value Study
SmartAsset released the rankings from its third-annual Healthiest Housing Markets Study, and Benton made the list. The study measures market health by the average number of years residents spend in homes, home values, ease of sale, and the costs associated with ownership.
For a look at how Benton compares with the Arkansas leaders, check the table below:
| Rank | City | Average Years Living in Home | Average Homes with Negative Equity | Homes Decreasing in Value | Average Days on Market | Home Costs as % of Income | Healthiest Markets Index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bryant | 12.2 | 7.80% | 10.60% | 107.8 | 17.80% | 81.81 |
| 2 | Fayetteville | 9 | 12.70% | 4.80% | 70.9 | 18.10% | 79.8 |
| 3 | Benton | 13 | 8.70% | 12.80% | 131.5 | 18.70% | 76.56 |
| 4 | Conway | 9.8 | 8.40% | 12.40% | 100.6 | 18.80% | 75.2 |
| 5 | Paragould | 12.5 | 10.10% | 12.40% | 171.7 | 18.30% | 73.08 |
| 6 | Van Buren | 12.9 | 9.90% | 11.00% | 175.2 | 20.70% | 67.43 |
| 7 | Greenbrier | 11.5 | 12.70% | 15.70% | 230.6 | 20.10% | 58.65 |
| 8 | Greenwood | 11.6 | 12.80% | 19.30% | 299.8 | 17.90% | 57.24 |
| 9 | Hot Springs Village | 12.9 | 8.90% | 22.40% | 368.6 | 18.90% | 50.95 |
| 10 | Hot Springs | 11.8 | 10.90% | 23.30% | 315.7 | 21.70% | 44.98 |
Retiring in Arkansas
Planning where you’ll spend your retirement can be difficult, especially for folks who will be relying heavily on Social Security as a main source of income. There are, however, places where Social Security goes further than others, and in a new study, SmartAsset has delved into the numbers to find out where. In its third annual study, SmartAsset analyzed Social Security income, cost of living data, and taxes across all counties to determine where people are getting the most mileage out of Social Security, and Saline County ranked among the top spots in Arkansas.
Click here for the full study results, methodology, and interactive nap. For a look at how the leaders in Arkansas compared, check out the table below:
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