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Jonesboro, AR metro area: population growth, jobs and income

The Jonesboro, AR metro area gained 744 residents between 2024 and 2025 (+0.5%).

The Jonesboro, AR metro area had an estimated 139,440 residents in 2025, up 3.6% (4,863 more people) since 2020.

Data as of 2025 · updated

Craighead County report — $99All metro areas

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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 182 people in 2025: more people moved in from other U.S. counties than moved out.

Private employers had 52,570 paid employees in mid-March 2023, +11.2% since 2018 (County Business Patterns).

Unemployment averaged 4.0% in 2025, 1.0 points higher than in 2019 (before the pandemic).

Builders were authorized to start 1,017 new homes in 2025, or 7.3 per 1,000 residents.

Median household income was $56,738 in the 2020–24 American Community Survey, +19.2% since 2016–20.

Population growth over five years ranks 3rd of 7 Arkansas metro areas and 122nd of 362 U.S. metro areas.

IRS tax-return data for 2022-2023 show a net gain of 530 people (the sum of its counties).

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How it ranks

MeasureAmong U.S. metro areas
Population growth122nd of 362
Net domestic migration per 1,000 residents173rd of 362
Private-sector job growth62nd of 352
Median household income347th of 362
Lowest unemployment rate171st of 362
New homes permitted per 1,000 residents55th 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 Craighead County report — $99

The County Growth and Demographics Report for Craighead County, AR, the principal county of the Jonesboro, 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.

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

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Counties in this metro area

Craighead County, AR drove the change: of the 4,863 residents the Jonesboro, AR metro area gained from 2020 to 2025 (the sum of its counties), it added 5,333, while Poinsett County, AR lost 470 residents.

The 2 counties of the Jonesboro, AR metro area: Census population estimates
CountyRoleResidents2025Share of residents2025Change2020–2025
Craighead County, ARCentral116,95783.9%+5,333 (+4.8%)
Poinsett County, AROutlying22,48316.1%−470 (−2.0%)

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 Jonesboro, AR metro area growing?

Yes. Its population grew 3.6% between 2020 and 2025, about 4,863 more people (Census Bureau population estimates).

Which county in the Jonesboro, AR metro area is growing fastest?

Craighead County, AR. Its population grew 4.8% between 2020 and 2025, the fastest of the 2 member counties (Census Bureau population estimates).

How many people moved to the Jonesboro, AR metro area?

On net, about 182 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 Jonesboro, AR metro area?

It averaged 4.0% in 2025 (BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual average).

What is the population of the Jonesboro, AR metro area?

About 139,440 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's population estimate for July 1, 2025.

Craighead County data alerts

Email me when Craighead 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 Craighead 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.