Skip to content
Beacon CRE

Hot Springs, AR metro area: population growth, jobs and income

The Hot Springs, AR metro area lost 215 residents between 2024 and 2025 (−0.2%).

The Hot Springs, AR metro area had an estimated 99,695 residents in 2025, down 0.6% (564 fewer people) since 2020.

Data as of 2025 · updated

Map, parcel and listing layers cover North and South Carolina only for now.

Want Pro for Arkansas? Get notified

Headline numbers

Population, migration, employment, permits, unemployment and income are the figures each agency publishes for the area itself (OMB Bulletin 23-01 delineation; ACS 2016-20 and CBP 2018 use the delineation of their year). IRS migration is the sum of the member counties.

What the numbers say

Net domestic migration added 380 people in 2025: more people moved in from other U.S. counties than moved out.

Private employers had 35,325 paid employees in mid-March 2023, +1.2% since 2018 (County Business Patterns).

Unemployment averaged 4.2% in 2025, 0.7 points higher than in 2019 (before the pandemic).

Builders were authorized to start 326 new homes in 2025, or 3.3 per 1,000 residents.

Median household income was $57,181 in the 2020–24 American Community Survey, +18.8% since 2016–20.

Population growth over five years ranks 7th of 7 Arkansas metro areas and 295th of 362 U.S. metro areas.

IRS tax-return data for 2022-2023 show a net gain of 36 people (the sum of its counties).

Get Garland County’s next numbers by email

Email me when Garland County gets new Census numbers: population, building permits, jobs and income. About 4 emails a year, one click to stop.

We use your address only to email you when new data for Garland County is out: what changed, with a link to that county's report. No newsletter, no other sales emails. Delete it any time with the link in every email. We'll email you a link to confirm first; nothing starts until you click it. Privacy notice.

How it ranks

MeasureAmong U.S. metro areas
Population growth295th of 362
Net domestic migration per 1,000 residents102nd of 362
Private-sector job growth226th of 352
Median household income342nd of 362
Lowest unemployment rate208th of 362
New homes permitted per 1,000 residents184th of 362

1st = highest (lowest for unemployment), against areas with a figure for the same period.

Fastest-growing metro areas in Arkansas · Fastest-growing metro areas in the U.S.

Get the Garland County report — $99

The County Growth and Demographics Report for Garland County, AR, the principal county of the Hot Springs, AR area, as a PDF: population and migration, housing and rents, permits, private employers and jobs, unemployment, ranks in the state and the country, and neighbouring counties, with a source next to every number. Pay once, no subscription.

See a sample report (PDF)

Every purchase also includes a CSV of every table in the report, ready for a spreadsheet.

Refund terms: Terms. · How we compute every number

Counties in this metro area

The 1 county of the Hot Springs, AR metro area: Census population estimates
CountyRoleResidents2025Share of residents2025Change2020–2025Share of the change2020–2025
Garland County, ARCentral99,695100.0%−564 (−0.6%)100%

Census Bureau population estimates (July 1). Shares are of the member counties' total; a share of the change shows only when every county moved the same way. – means no figure for the common period.

All Arkansas counties

Nearby and similar metro areas

Next to this metro area

Similar in size

Questions

Is the Hot Springs, AR metro area growing?

No. Its population fell 0.6% between 2020 and 2025, about 564 fewer people (Census Bureau population estimates).

How many people moved to the Hot Springs, AR metro area?

On net, about 380 people in 2025: that many more moved in from other U.S. counties than moved out (Census Bureau net domestic migration estimate).

What is the unemployment rate in the Hot Springs, AR metro area?

It averaged 4.2% in 2025 (BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual average).

What is the population of the Hot Springs, AR metro area?

About 99,695 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's population estimate for July 1, 2025.

How many jobs are in the Hot Springs, AR metro area?

Private employers there had 35,325 paid employees in mid-March 2023, +1.2% since 2018 (Census Bureau County Business Patterns; government jobs and the self-employed are not counted).

Garland County data alerts

Email me when Garland County gets new Census numbers: population, building permits, jobs and income. About 4 emails a year, one click to stop.

We use your address only to email you when new data for Garland County is out: what changed, with a link to that county's report. No newsletter, no other sales emails. Delete it any time with the link in every email. We'll email you a link to confirm first; nothing starts until you click it. Privacy notice.

Sources and method

Each number shows its own period. Changes compare the latest period with five years earlier (or the earliest period available). Beacon CRE last refreshed these figures on 2026-11-05. Figures come from public federal statistics and are informational only, not investment advice. Check the source before relying on a number. Methodology: how we compute every number. More on every layer: data sources and licences.

Jobs outside North and South Carolina use County Business Patterns (paid private-sector employees in mid-March); wages and government jobs are not included.