It’s no secret that Northwest Arkansas is one of the fastest-growing areas in the United States. If you’re considering moving here, you need to know the best (and most coveted) places you could live in.
Bentonville, Fayetteville, Mount Sequoia, Pinnacle Hills, Beaver Lake, and Bela Vista are the most wanted places to live in Northwest Arkansas. Bentonville and Fayetteville are best if you need employment or have a family to raise. The rest of the options in this list are best suited for retirement.
In the rest of this post, I’ll make a case for why these are some of the best places to live in Northwest Arkansas, highlight their best features, and discuss whether or not they’d suit you. Let’s get started!
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Bentonville
First up, we have Bentonville. Located in central Benton county, just west of Rogers and north of Fayetteville, this is the birthplace of the retail giant Walmart and one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States.
Bentonville’s population is just north of 59,000 as of 2023, which means the city isn’t so crowded that it becomes noisy, polluted, and unsafe and isn’t so vacant that it feels lifeless and disconnected from the world. Nope, far from it! The city has many excellent schools, popular restaurants, and famous art museums, and there’s always a lot to do here- you’ll never get bored.
Additionally, since Bentonville is the birthplace of Walmart, their new headquarters is currently being constructed there. This project is set to be completed by 2025. It is expected to generate several new jobs and encourage businesspeople and investors to frequently travel in and out of the city, causing further economic growth.
This is also why many people consider buying land in Bentonville an investment- this expected economic development in the city will definitely raise the value of the land. So, if you were on the fence about buying a house in Bentonville, Arkansas, now you have another consideration to add to the equation.
However, due to the city’s fast-growing economic activity, the land price is increasing rapidly. Existing houses rarely go up in the market for sale, and when they do, they’re either priced really high or bought quickly.
Fayetteville
Fayetteville, Arkansas, is located just south of Bentonville and has a population of just over 100 000 people as of 2023.
The houses around Fayetteville are modern and well-designed, but many buildings around the city will seem much older. This is because Fayetteville has been around for a long time, so many buildings in the city have more traditional designs.
However, with the rising economic activity in the city, more people (especially families) are moving to Fayetteville and buying older homes, revamping them, or building new ones on top of them from scratch.
Why did Fayetteville make it to the list? There are several reasons for that:
- It’s an old city, so there are many old and well-established businesses in the city with job opportunities.
- The city is located near Bentonville (home of Walmart). With the new Walmart headquarters currently being built there, many investors and businesspeople have started moving into (or traveling into) the area, causing a drastic rise in economic activity in all of Northwest Arkansas.
- Downtown Fayetteville is also home to some well-known universities and public schools, meaning it’s perfect for families.
- Since many popular universities and schools are located in Fayetteville, the city has a rich sports culture such as football, basketball, tennis, and more.
For all these reasons and more, getting a home in Fayetteville is becoming harder by the day since houses don’t stay on the market for long, and you have to be very vigilant about the opportunities available to you and get it before someone else beats you to it.
Mount Sequoyah
Just adjacent to downtown Fayetteville, we have mount Sequoyah, a small neighborhood of just a few hundred people.
Mount Sequoyah is the highest point of Fayetteville, and it’s where people go when they want to zoom away from the fast-paced life of the city and connect with nature.
The giant cross atop mount Sequoyah is a huge tourist attraction. Every day, many people from within and outside of Fayetteville come to this spot to sit, look over all of Fayetteville, and watch sunsets.
You’ll find many old and pretty homes at mount Sequoyah, but it’s almost impossible to buy one for yourself.
This is because the houses on top of mount Sequoyah typically get passed down within families from generation to generation. Even when they go up for sale, it’s rare for the information to reach public knowledge, and most deals are made through known referrals.
If you manage to get a deal on a house here, Mount Sequoyah is one of the best places you could move to for retirement or to connect with nature. Plus, even if you want to work during your stay there, downtown Fayetteville is nearby and not difficult to commute to work.
Pinnacle Hills
Pinnacle Hills is another incredible option you have for retirement homes in Northwest Arkansas. The neighborhood is located in Rogers, one of the most popular cities of Northwest Arkansas, and it is famous for its slow-paced life and golfing facilities.
Pinnacle Hills takes you away from the world of busy streets, pollution, tall buildings, and stress and connects you with nature and peace.
The place is full of greenery, widely spaced beautiful houses, and many pretty landscapes. So, if you enjoy that kind of peace and quiet, this is the perfect place for you.
Don’t worry, though, you won’t be completely disconnected from the world either. Just near the neighborhood is the Pinnacle hills promenade, a shopping center where you can get everything you need.
Beaver Lake’s Lakefront Homes
Getting a Lakefront home on Beaver Lake is the dream for anyone who wants to retire to a quiet and naturally beautiful area.
The neighborhood is slow-paced and well-connected with nature’s beauty, and the nearby lake has encouraged the development of many watersport facilities in the area.
While the houses near Beaver Lake are generally in high demand, the most coveted part of the area is the strip of lakefront homes.
This is because most of these homes have permits (which are rarely issued anymore) to build their own docks and keep their boats on the lake. For a fishing enthusiast, this is the perfect place to live in, but the catch is that the lakefront houses are really hard to get because:
- The houses rarely go up on sale.
- Even when they go up on sale, the lake permit allows sellers to price them even higher than usual, causing them to become unaffordable to most.
So, apart from the cost you’ll have to pay to buy one of these homes, Beaver’s Lake is one of the best places to move to if you’ve retired or work remotely and appreciate natural scenic beauty.
Bella Vista’s Lakefront Homes
Located inside Benton county, Bella Vista is a small town with a population of over 29 000 people. The place has been famous for being one of the best retirement communities in Northwest Arkansas. Still, it’s slowly evolving into a community of aspiring youth as job opportunities in the area are progressively rising.
The most notable feature of the area is Bella Vista lake, which adds a lot of natural beauty to the town and fosters a culture of watersports among its residents.
Other outdoor facilities available in the town include swimming pools, golf fields, shooting ranges, bike tracks, parks, and more.
If you’re looking for the best experience in Bella Vista, you should get one of the few houses with lakefront access. But as you might’ve already guessed, these houses have a long-standing waiting list of people who want to buy them up as soon as they go for sale.
Overall, Bella Vista is the perfect place for you if you want to connect with nature, engage in outdoor activities, and escape the stress and pressures of metropolitan cities.
And that about wraps up this quick overview of the most wanted places to live in NWA. Of course, the high demand will make the land more costly. As such, check out my article highlighting the smaller and less known towns in NWA for additional information.
Conclusion
That’s pretty much it! Now you know my top picks for the best places to live in Northwest Arkansas, why they’re special, and who they’re a right fit for. So go ahead and make your call! I’m positive no matter where you choose to live in Northwest Arkansas, you’ll absolutely love it.