Fayetteville Named One of 10 Low-Cost Locales With Plentiful Jobs

Bert Sperling of Sperling's Best Places has put together a list of the top 10 affordable job powerhouses for MSN Real Estate and the Fayetteville, Springdale and Rogers area is included. He describes his picks as places where the cost of living and unemployment are low and the number of jobs continues to grow. Resident also, he says, enjoy a good quality of life, including a high level of home ownership without having to make a huge salary.

According to Sperling, many of them are college towns, providing access to cultural and sporting events that are rare in other burgs their size. Others are framed by national parks, lakes, rivers and other breathtaking natural scenery, an added plus for outdoor enthusiasts.

Here is what Sperling said about Northwest Arkansas:

“Many consider Fayetteville to be one of the country's best-kept secrets with its thriving economy and a family-friendly atmosphere nestled in the Ozark Mountains. Home to the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville has a quaint downtown, good college sports and entertainment, and a progressive feel for such a small town.

“Springdale, meanwhile, feels a bit more "old South" and leads the area as a center of light manufacturing, trucking and agricultural processing, as well as being home to poultry giant Tyson Foods.

“Rogers is a sleepy little town that has boomed as a major residential area just minutes from Wal-Mart Stores' Bentonville headquarters. While Wal-Mart has an overwhelming influence here, employing more than 13,000 of the residents, many other Fortune 500 companies have moved in as well, providing some diversity to the local economy. The area boasts five-year-job growth of 26.1% and a low unemployment rate of 3.5%.

“There's a growing base of culture, with a large performing arts center endowed by the Waltons (Wal-Mart's founding family) on the scene. A Walton-supported art museum is scheduled to open in 2009. This access to culture and the beauty of the surrounding mountains and lakes has helped land it the title of one of America's Most Livable Cities in 2005 by the nonprofit Partners for Livable Communities.

“Living costs here are low. The median home price in the three-city area averaged $212,300 in January 2007 -- and that's for a three- to four-bedroom home with as much as 2,000 square feet of living space, says John K. Carpenter of Re/Max Associates in Fayetteville. "People who come down from Chicago are absolutely blown away by what the dollar will buy here."