ARKANSAS USA
GEOGRAPHY
Arkansas is near the geographic and population centers of
the United States. Its borders adjoin Texas, Louisiana,
Mississippi, Tennessee, Missouri, and Oklahoma with the
Mississippi River forming the state’s eastern border.
It is located on the same latitude as Osaka, Japan and North
Africa.
Land Surface
34,036,717 acres
East~Alluvial valleys of the Arkansas and Mississippi
rivers, with agricultural land dominated by cotton, rice
and soybeans
North and West~Mountainous or coastal plains
South~Wildlife refuges and timberlands
Source: Arkansas Forestry Commission
Climate
Temperate with four seasons, long summers and short
winters.
Temperature
Annual maximum
Annual minimum
Humidity
Annual relative at noon for Arkansas
Precipitation
Total annual for Arkansas
72.9°F
52.5°F
49%
50.6 inches
Major Urban Centers Population
(2013 Estimate)
Hot Springs, AR MSA
97,173
Pine Bluff, AR MSA
95,815
Jonesboro, AR MSA
125,633
Texarkana, TX-Texarkana, AR MSA
149,619
Fort Smith, AR-OK MSA
279,974
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO MSA
491,966
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR MSA
724,385
Memphis, TN-MS-AR MSA
Source: www.srh.noaa.gov
1,341,746
Source: U. S. Census Bureau
POPULATION
Arkansas (2010 Census)
2,915,919
Arkansas (2014 Estimate)
2,966,369
Arkansas (2020 Projection)
3,286,837
United States (2010 Census)
308,745,538
United States (2014 Estimate)
318,857,056
United States (2020 Projection)
334,503,458
NATURAL RESOURCES
Environmental Regulation
Consistent with other states. The Arkansas Department of
Environmental Quality issues air, water, and solid waste
permits.
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Water
Fortune 500
Arkansas has over 283,000 hectares (699,293 acres) of
surface water. Over 800 billion liters of high quality ground
water are contained in aquifers capable of yielding over
2,000 liters per minute.
There are 117 Fortune 500 firms with more than 2,500
operations in Arkansas. Six of the firms, Wal-Mart Stores,
Inc., Dillards, Inc., Tyson Foods, Inc., Murphy Oil Corp.,
J. B. Hunt and Windstream Corp. are headquartered here.
Source: Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (Water
Division)
Source: Arkansas Economic Development Commission
Gross Domestic Product
Timber
2013
(Millions of current dollars)
Forests cover 18.8 million acres or more than half of the
state. Pine woods make up 41%, and the rest is mixed
hardwoods, mostly oak.
Total Gross Domestic Product
$124,218
Services
17.8%
Timber growing, harvesting, management, transporting, and
processing are major industries in Arkansas.
Finance/insurance/ real estate
13.5%
Manufacturing
13.4%
Source: Arkansas Forestry Commission
Wholesale & Retail Trade
13.4%
Government
12.2%
Information
9.1%
Agriculture/forestry/fishing/hunting/mining
7.1%
Transportation/warehousing
4.0%
Management of companies and enterprises
3.7%
Construction
3.4%
Utilities
2.4%
Minerals
Commercial Production~Bromine (#1 in world), cement
rock, clay, gypsum, novaculite, quartz crystals, stone, sand
and gravel.
Source: Arkansas Geological Survey
Oil
Crude Oil
Total Production
Reserves
6,640 thousand barrels (2013)
40 million barrels (2013)
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis
RETAIL SALES
Natural Gas
Total Production
Reserves
Total Retail Sales
Coal
Total Production
Number of Mines
2012
(Top 5 Retail Sectors)
1,139,654 million cubic feet (2013)
13,518 billion cubic feet (2013)
59 thousand short tons (2013)
2 (2013)
Source: U. S. Energy Information Administration
BUSINESS CLIMATE
Market
$29,222,936,400
General Merchandise
7,170,044,941
Motor Vehicles & Parts Dealers
5,880,518,091
Gasoline Service Stations
3,654,768,172
Food and Beverage Stores
3,371,068,786
Building Material/Garden
Equip./Supply Dealers
1,072,489,184
Source: Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI)
40% of the U.S. population is within one day’s drive of
Arkansas. Major market centers in the region include:
Memphis, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston,
Kansas City, Oklahoma City, New Orleans, and St. Louis.
Principal Industries
Manufacturing, agriculture, forestry, transportation,
information, business services and tourism.
Principal Manufactured Goods
Food and Kindred Products, Lumber and Wood Products,
Paper and Pulp, Electronic Equipment, Rubber and Plastic
Products, Machinery, Transportation Equipment,
Chemicals, and Fabricated and Primary Metals.
Source: Arkansas Economic Development Commission
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Industrial Manufacturing Structure 2013
TRANSPORTATION
Highways
Number of
Establishments
Industry
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
520
Wood Product Manufacturing
317
Food Manufacturing
273
Interstate (4 or 5 lanes)
948 kilometers (589.40 miles)
NHS*(4 or more lanes)
853 kilometers (530.50 miles)
NHS*(2 lanes)
2,482.40 kilometers (1,542.82 miles)
*National Highway System
Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
252
Printing/Related Support Activities
244
Machinery Manufacturing
212
Furniture/Related Products Manufacturing
192
Miscellaneous Manufacturing
193
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
144
Some of the nation’s leading trucking companies are
headquartered in Arkansas. These include ABF Freight
System, J. B. Hunt Transport, Maverick Transportation
P.A.M. Transport, and USA Truck.
Plastic/Rubber Products Manufacturing
142
Source: Little Rock Chamber of Commerce
Chemical Manufacturing
119
Paper Manufacturing
76
Primary Metal Manufacturing
75
Computer/Electronic Product Manufacturing
63
Electrical Equipment/Appliances
55
Class I
Textile Product Mills
55
Short line
Apparel Manufacturing
22
Leather/Allied Products Manufacturing
16
Petroleum/Coal Products Manufacturing
17
Source: U.S. Highway & Transportation Administration
Truck and Motor Freight
Railroads
Of the twenty-five railroad companies in the state, three are
Class I (Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Kansas City
Southern and Union Pacific) and 22 are short line.
Rice (#1 in nation)
Airports
The state has approximately 100 public use airports.
Commercial service is provided by seven airlines at the Bill
and Hillary Clinton National Airport and by five airlines
NWARA near Bentonville. Commuter service is also
available at El Dorado, Fort Smith, Harrison, Hot Springs,
Jonesboro, Mountain Home, Pine Bluff and Texarkana.
Poultry (#3 in nation)
820 thousand bales
(2013)
Soybeans (#9 in nation)
Wheat
2014
111.9 million hundredweight
Cotton (#5 in nation)
Source: Source: www.fly-lit.com (Bill and Hillary Clinton
National Airport), www.flyxna.com and www.airnav.com
996.4 million birds
160.5 million bushels
(2013)
1,433.62 kilometers (891 miles)
Source: Arkansas Business
Source: Arkansas Covered Employment & Earnings
Principal Agricultural Products
3,045.84 kilometers (1,893 miles)
Waterways
38.1 million bushels
Tourists spent more than $5.9 billion in Arkansas in 2013;
the Ozark and Ouachita Mountain Regions and the Buffalo
National River are popular recreational areas. The Crater of
Diamonds State Park near Murfreesboro is the only
diamond producing site in the world open to the public.
Arkansas has one of the largest inventories of navigable
waterways in the nation with 1,099 kilometers (more than
1,000 miles) along five rivers. A navigable river is within
65 miles of every county in the state.
Nine cities have public terminals:
Mississippi River~Osceola, West Memphis, Helena-West
Helena, and Yellow Bend near McGehee.
Arkansas River~Little Rock, Pine Bluff, and Fort Smith
Ouachita River~Camden and Crossett
Source: Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism
Source: Arkansas Waterways Association
Source: USDA-Arkansas Field Office
Tourism
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EMPLOYMENT
Labor Force
Employment Distribution
(In thousands)
2011
Civilian Labor Force
Employment
Unemployment
2013
Trade, Transportation & Utilities
21%
Government
16%
1,370,000
1,355,800
1,326,500
Education & Health Services
15%
1,260,000
1,257,000
1,226,400
Manufacturing
14%
Professional & Business Services
11%
Leisure & Hospitality
9%
Construction
4%
Financial Activities
4%
Natural Resources & Mining
2%
Other Services
2%
Information
1%
110,000
98,800
100,100
8.0
7.3
7.5
1,170,000
1,177,400
1,177,400
11,100
10,700
9,700
Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payroll Jobs
2012
2012
Natr’l Resorcs./Mining
Construction
47,300
47,400
45,700
Manufacturing
158,900
155,900
152,500
Trade, Trans./Utilities
238,100
242,800
241,600
14,900
14,500
14,200
Information
Financial Activities
Source: Arkansas Department of Workforce Services
48,500
49,100
49,500
Prof. /Business Serv.
122,700
123,000
128,200
Four-year Public Universities
11
Education/Health Serv.
168,000
171,800
171,900
Two-year Public Colleges
22
Leisure/Hospitality
100,200
102,800
105,400
Independent Colleges and Universities
11
43,500
43,500
43,100
216,900
215,900
215,600
Other Services
Government
EDUCATION
Technical Institutes/Vocational-Technical Schools
3
Source: Arkansas Department of Workforce Services
Source: Arkansas Department of Higher Education and
Arkansas Department of Career Education
Income and Wages
Financing Available
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2013
(Current dollars)
Earnings & Income
Arkansas
USA
Average Hourly Earnings
$18.52
$23.96
Per Capita Personal Income
$36,086
$44,543
Foreign Trade Zones (FTZ)
PERSONAL INCOME BY SOURCE
(Thousands of dollars)
Foreign Trade Zones are located at the Little Rock Port and
West Memphis Port. Active Little Rock subzones are
located in De Queen, El Dorado and Nashville.
2013
Earnings by Industry
Farm earnings
Nonfarm earnings
Municipal and County Industrial Revenue Bonds
General Obligation Bonds
State Loan/Guarantee Programs
Development Finance Corporations
Diamond State Ventures (Venture Capital)
2,590,513
Labor Laws
62,273,079
Mining
1,050,128
Right-to-work law forbids compulsory union membership
for employment. Minimum wage is set by state and federal
laws.
Construction
3,891,893
Source: Arkansas Economic Development Commission
Manufacturing
8,591,617
Wholesale Trade
3,577,942
Retail Trade
4,892,224
Transportation and warehousing
3,605,625
Finance, and Insurance
2,757,972
Forestry, fishing, related activities
536,546
Government and government enterprises
12,358,665
Dividends, Interest, Rent
22,528,098
Transfer Receipts
TOTAL PERSONAL INCOME
24,709,156
108,603,298
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis
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