State profile · AR · Clery Act

Safest Colleges in Arkansas

Federal Clery Act filings for all 75 tracked Arkansas campuses, ranked by 2024 on-campus Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents per 1,000 students. Among nonzero reporters, NorthWest Arkansas Community College currently has the lowest rate.

75
Institutions tracked
1.11
Avg campus rate / 1k (75 of 75 scored)
1.72
Statewide rate / 1k
#12
Rank by avg campus rate
158,912
Students enrolled

Among nonzero Clery reporters, NorthWest Arkansas Community College has the lowest rate in Arkansas

According to U.S. Department of Education Clery Act filings, across 75 tracked campuses in Arkansas, 53 reported zero 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents used in the rate; among campuses with any in those categories, NorthWest Arkansas Community College has the lowest rate at 0.12 per 1,000 students. This comparison excludes other Clery tables and unreported harm, so review the details before drawing a safety conclusion.

Data source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey

campuses tracked
75
average campus, per 1,000 (75 of 75 scored)
1.11
lowest nonzero rate - NorthWest Arkansas Community
0.12
campuses at zero in score categories
53

Data updated August 2026

Clery Act plate

Sheet AR · Arkansas 1.11/1k campus avg · #12/59

RATE-LOW · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · ZERO-HEAVY · WT-LARGE-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-MID

  • RATE-LOW 1.11/1k
  • RANK-UPPER #12/59
  • PHOTO-FINISH Federated States of Micronesia · ±0.05
  • ZERO-HEAVY 71% zero
  • WT-LARGE-HOT Δ −0.62
  • BOOK-FULL 75/75
  • CONC-MID top5 48%

Nearest campus-rate peer: Federated States of Micronesia (+0.05/1k)

Arkansas sheet RATE-LOW · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · ZERO-HEAVY · WT-LARGE-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-MID · peer Federated States of Micronesia. Codes from this state’s OPE Campus Safety filing: unweighted campus rate, corpus rank (low = safer), photo-finish peer state, zero-report share, campus-vs-weighted gap, scored book, top-five enrollment concentration. Not a moving recommendation.

Clery plate RATE-LOW · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · ZERO-HEAVY · WT-LARGE-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-MID. Nearest unweighted-rate peer is Federated States of Micronesia (+0.05/1k). Among nonzero reporters inside the state, NorthWest Arkansas Community College leads at 0.12/1k. Instrument codes from this state's OPE Campus Safety sheet; compare similarly sized campuses before treating any single rate as decisive.

Most scored campuses in Arkansas (53 of 75) reported zero in the 2024 score categories and stay unranked against each other. Among the nonzero reporters, NorthWest Arkansas Community College leads at 0.12/1k, then Black River Technical College (0.59/1k); University of Arkansas at Little Rock (0.97/1k). A high zero share is a filing pattern, not a proof that campuses are safer.

Campus-rate neighbourhood around Arkansas

Lowest/highest poles plus states nearest Arkansas on unweighted average campus Clery rate. Full ladder: /rankings/.

per 1,000 students

What this shows Neighbourhood of scored states around Arkansas's 1.11/1k unweighted campus average, not a full 50-state board reprint.

Source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey (Clery Act) As of 2024

Safest colleges in Arkansas, ranked by reported rate

Ranked from the lowest 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA rate upward, counting only the 22 Arkansas campuses with at least one incident in those score categories. Positions are numbered within that group, because a rank counted through the zero-score campuses below would order them by nothing.

21
Lyon CollegeBatesville · 659 students
Enrollment
659
Incidents /1k
15.17
#CampusEnrollmentIncidents /1k
1NorthWest Arkansas Community CollegeBentonville · 8,412 students8,4120.124% of the leader · rank #1
2Black River Technical CollegePocahontas · 1,705 students1,7050.594% of the leader · rank #2
3University of Arkansas at Little RockLittle Rock · 8,216 students8,2160.975% of the leader · rank #3
4Southern Arkansas University TechCamden · 991 students9911.015% of the leader · rank #4
5Harding UniversitySearcy · 4,696 students4,6961.065% of the leader · rank #5
6Southeast Arkansas CollegePine Bluff · 916 students9161.095% of the leader · rank #6
7University of Arkansas-Fort SmithFort Smith · 5,496 students5,4961.467% of the leader · rank #7
8Arkansas State UniversityJonesboro · 15,726 students15,7261.537% of the leader · rank #8
9John Brown UniversitySiloam Springs · 2,350 students2,3501.708% of the leader · rank #9
10University of ArkansasFayetteville · 33,610 students33,6101.798% of the leader · rank #10
11Henderson State UniversityArkadelphia · 2,055 students2,0551.959% of the leader · rank #11
12Arkansas Tech UniversityRussellville · 8,746 students8,7462.0610% of the leader · rank #12
13University of Arkansas at MonticelloMonticello · 2,856 students2,8562.1010% of the leader · rank #13
14Southern Arkansas University Main CampusMagnolia · 4,732 students4,7322.1110% of the leader · rank #14
15Ouachita Baptist UniversityArkadelphia · 1,858 students1,8582.1510% of the leader · rank #15
16Hendrix CollegeConway · 1,110 students1,1103.6017% of the leader · rank #16
17University of Central ArkansasConway · 10,112 students10,1123.6617% of the leader · rank #17
18University of Arkansas for Medical SciencesLittle Rock · 3,485 students3,4855.1724% of the leader · rank #18
19Arkansas Baptist CollegeLittle Rock · 342 students3425.8527% of the leader · rank #19
20University of the OzarksClarksville · 778 students7786.4330% of the leader · rank #20
21Lyon CollegeBatesville · 659 students65915.1771% of the leader · rank #21
22University of Arkansas at Pine BluffPine Bluff · 2,005 students2,00521.45100% of the leader · rank #22

Unranked campuses (53): zero score or no normalized rate

53 filed zero 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents in the score categories; other Clery tables can still contain reports. Neither group supports a safety ordering, so these campuses are listed alphabetically without positions. Showing 15 alphabetically; the remaining 38 stay out of this HTML table so large states stay crawlable.

#CampusEnrollmentIncidents /1k
Academy of Professional CosmetologyRogers · 115 students1150.00
Academy of Salon and SpaFort Smith · 52 students520.00
Arkansas Beauty CollegeRussellville · 61 students610.00
Arkansas Beauty School-Little RockLittle Rock · 106 students1060.00
Arkansas Colleges of Health EducationFort Smith · 870 students8700.00
Arkansas Northeastern CollegeBlytheville · 1,461 students1,4610.00
Arkansas State University Mid-SouthWest Memphis · 1,022 students1,0220.00
Arkansas State University Three RiversMalvern · 1,983 students1,9830.00
Arkansas State University-BeebeBeebe · 3,277 students3,2770.00
Arkansas State University-Mountain HomeMountain Home · 1,315 students1,3150.00
Arkansas State University-NewportNewport · 1,868 students1,8680.00
Arkansas Technical SchoolNorth Little Rock · 123 students1230.00
Arkansas Welding AcademyJacksonville · 73 students730.00
Arthur's Beauty CollegeJacksonville · 29 students290.00
Arthur's Beauty CollegeConway · 66 students660.00

Open any remaining campus from the school directory or the incident tool.

The largest universities in Arkansas by enrollment

Enrollment leaders: University of Arkansas (33,610); Arkansas State University (15,726); University of Central Arkansas (10,112), then 72 more. The 15 biggest Arkansas institutions by total enrolled students, from the same federal IPEDS collection, each shown with its 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA rate. The five largest alone account for 48% of the 158,912 students enrolled across all 75 tracked Arkansas institutions. Mid-pack by size sits near University of Arkansas Community College Rich Mountain (786 students, 0.00/1k).

#InstitutionEnrollmentIncidents /1k
1University of ArkansasFayetteville · 33,610 students33,610100% of the leader · rank #11.79
2Arkansas State UniversityJonesboro · 15,726 students15,72647% of the leader · rank #21.53
3University of Central ArkansasConway · 10,112 students10,11230% of the leader · rank #33.66
4Arkansas Tech UniversityRussellville · 8,746 students8,74626% of the leader · rank #42.06
5NorthWest Arkansas Community CollegeBentonville · 8,412 students8,41225% of the leader · rank #50.12
6University of Arkansas at Little RockLittle Rock · 8,216 students8,21624% of the leader · rank #60.97
7University of Arkansas-Fort SmithFort Smith · 5,496 students5,49616% of the leader · rank #71.46
8Southern Arkansas University Main CampusMagnolia · 4,732 students4,73214% of the leader · rank #82.11
9Harding UniversitySearcy · 4,696 students4,69614% of the leader · rank #91.06
10University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical CollegeNorth Little Rock · 4,478 students4,47813% of the leader · rank #100.00
11University of Arkansas for Medical SciencesLittle Rock · 3,485 students3,48510% of the leader · rank #115.17
12Arkansas State University-BeebeBeebe · 3,277 students3,27710% of the leader · rank #120.00
13University of Arkansas at MonticelloMonticello · 2,856 students2,8568% of the leader · rank #132.10
14John Brown UniversitySiloam Springs · 2,350 students2,3507% of the leader · rank #141.70
15University of Arkansas Community College-MorriltonMorrilton · 2,248 students2,2487% of the leader · rank #150.00

Enrollment is total reported students, not full-time equivalent, and a branch campus is reported separately from its parent institution. A larger campus is not a less safe one: the incident rate beside it is already per 1,000 students.

Nationwide states with similar campus scale or Clery rate

Two nationwide peer sets for Arkansas: closest on tracked campus count (75 here) and closest on unweighted average 2024 Clery rate (1.11/1k here). The rate-neighbourhood and keep-peer blocks above stay geo-adjacent; these columns are cross-state ABS comparisons with deduped link sets.

Similar campus count

Nearest other states by number of tracked postsecondary institutions (≥5 scored campuses in corpus).

Similar campus Clery rate

Nearest other states by unweighted average on-campus Clery rate. Campus-count peers above are excluded.

Read with this state

Keep-peer handoff: Federated States of Micronesia sits nearest on unweighted campus average (+0.05/1k). Inside Arkansas, open NorthWest Arkansas Community College's campus sheet next.

NorthWest Arkansas Community College profile → | All states → | Arkansas net price → | Incident tool → | Methodology →

Arkansas campus safety FAQ

What are the safest colleges in Arkansas?

Among Arkansas campuses that reported at least one 2024 Criminal Offense or VAWA incident in the Clery categories used here, NorthWest Arkansas Community College has the lowest rate (0.12 per 1,000 students). Next among nonzero reporters: Black River Technical College (0.59/1k); University of Arkansas at Little Rock (0.97/1k). 53 campuses reported zero in those score categories and are listed separately without a safety ordinal, because a zero report is not the same as a proven safer campus.

How does PlainCampus rank campus safety in Arkansas?

In Arkansas, campuses with any 2024 Criminal Offenses or VAWA incidents in the score categories are ordered by incidents per 1,000 students - NorthWest Arkansas Community College currently leads that nonzero list at 0.12/1k. Zero-report and unscored campuses stay unranked and alphabetical. See /methodology for the full rate definition.

How many colleges in Arkansas are compared?

This page covers 75 tracked higher-education institutions in Arkansas, serving about 158,912 enrolled students combined across 41 cities. 22 carry a ranked nonzero rate; 53 are listed without a safety ordinal. By enrollment the largest are University of Arkansas (33,610); Arkansas State University (15,726); University of Central Arkansas (10,112). Nearby state averages for context: Federated States of Micronesia (1.16/1k); South Dakota (1.17/1k); Michigan (1.18/1k); Louisiana (1.20/1k); Utah (0.91/1k); Ohio (1.34/1k).

Every figure on PlainCampus is rendered directly from federal Clery Act source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal Clery Act source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

PlainCampus is for informational purposes only and does not constitute safety, security, legal, or enrollment advice; the data describes reported on-campus activity, it is not a complete picture of safety at any campus and cannot predict any individual student's experience. See our appropriate use guidance.