The Arkansas Economic Development Commission Welcomes Your Interest in Arkansas.

The Arkansas Economic Development Commission welcomes your interest in Arkansas. Arkansas is a Natural for Business, noted as a leader in the South for its favorable business climate and low cost of doing business.

Arkansas is proud of the four homegrown Fortune 500 companies headquartered here: Dillard's, Murphy Oil, Tyson Foods and Wal-Mart.

Arkansas is making headlines:      

• In 2010, CNN Money included Wal-Mart, headquartered in Bentonville, among the top ten World’s Most Admired Companies. 
• In November 2009, Business Week magazine named the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metropolitan area the fourth strongest metro economy in the U.S.      
• In 2009, CNN Money ranked the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metropolitan area the thirteenth best midsize metro (and 23rd overall metro) in the U.S. to launch a new business.     
• In Dec. 2009, CNN Money ranked Saline County, Arkansas among the Top Ten Places for Jobs.     
• In 2009, the Brookings Institution ranked Little Rock’s economy the 7^th strongest in the United States.     
• The Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metropolitan area was ranked by Forbes magazine as the second best area in the United States for recession recovery in 2009.     
• Southern Business and Development magazine recently honored Arkansas by naming Little Rock one of the top ten small markets for foreign investment. The magazine also ranked Paragould and Russellville, Arkansas “Hot Markets in a Cold Economy.”     
• Eight colleges/universities in Arkansas received honors from U.S. News and World Report in 2009.  
• Diversity of industry is evident in Arkansas. Recent locations and expansions range from HP to Caterpillar.

Employers give favorable ratings to Arkansas workers for their work ethic, skills, productivity and low turnover rates. Businesses report great success in recruiting quality and reliable people.

The average cost of living for all of Arkansas's MSAs is consistently below the national average. Businesses also enjoy low tax obligations through a variety of incentives, exemptions, credits and refunds.

Because of its central location, Arkansas provides a valuable transportation advantage. Halfway between Canada and Mexico, the Carolinas and California, Arkansas is only a tank of gas away from one-third of the nation's population.

Home to hundreds of lakes, streams and rivers, 51 state parks and three national forests, Arkansas offers a great variety of recreational opportunities.

Fishermen enjoy the 700,000 acres covered by water, including the Little Red River, home of the world-record brown trout. Canoeing is popular, especially on America's first national river, the Buffalo. Hunters can pursue a wide variety of game, and hikers enjoy the Sugarloaf Trail, America's first national nature trail, as well as many others. Several of Arkansas' 181 golf courses are championship quality.

Arkansas enjoys the four seasons in moderation, and the longer spring and fall seasons provide a mild climate. Average temperatures range from 35° to 45°F in January and 81°F in July. The annual relative humidity averages 57%. Arkansas receives approximately 44 to 54 inches of rainfall a year, while Little Rock receives less than 4 inches of annual frozen precipitation.

Local culture, history and the arts are featured in more than 200 cultural institutions in Arkansas, including symphonies, community and professional theater and ballet groups, museums, galleries and a nationally respected arts center. Pioneer settlements, Native American sites and antebellum homes are preserved as part of Arkansas' colorful history. Architect Fay Jones' Thorncrown Chapel on the outskirts of Eureka Springs was named one of the top 10 designs of the 20th century.

In the Historic Arkansas Museum in Little Rock, visitors can explore the rich heritage of the state's oldest neighborhood and then take an easy stroll to enjoy the unique shopping and cuisine in the city's downtown River Market District along the south bank of the Arkansas River.

The William J. Clinton Presidential Center is located in Little Rock's River Market District. It houses the largest archival collection in American Presidential history and attracts people from all over the world. In a restored 1899 passenger train depot adjacent to the Center is the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, which offers a master's degree in public service.

Nearby the Clinton Center is the headquarters of Heifer International, a worldwide hunger-relief agency that fosters self-reliance by providing livestock to families around the world - currently to 50 countries, including the United States. A $64 million, 15-acre global village is planned at the site.

Hot Springs is home to Oaklawn Park, which celebrated its 100th year of thoroughbred racing in 2004. And Southland Greyhound Park in West Memphis is the largest dog racing track in the Mid-South.

A varied array of local festivals and craft shows feature Arkansas themes - from the Watermelon Festival in Hope to the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival on the Mississippi River to the War Eagle Crafts Fair in the Ozarks.

Arkansas communities vary from sophisticated urban centers to small rural hometowns.

Many retirees find Arkansas a great place to live, and the state will attract even more as the baby boomers grow older. The state ranks among the top in the U.S. in both retiree relocation and income. U.S. News and World Report consistently lists the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock among America's Best Graduate Schools. The UAMS geriatric clinical care program and primary care program were also highly ranked. The UAMS Medical Center has consistently been named one of America's Best Hospitals.

Also noted for medical research, UAMS doctors have announced major discoveries in treating osteoporosis through bone regeneration. The university's Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute is internationally known in several specialty areas, such as multiple myeloma. UAMS faculty provide care for patients at Arkansas Children's Hospital, which is among the top 10 pediatric hospitals in the nation.

The UAMS BioVentures, a business incubator, propels startup biotech companies into the marketplace. The Genesis Incubator at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville is another platform for successful high-tech companies.

Of Arkansas's 20 colleges and universities, six were listed among Forbes' list of America's Best Colleges in 2008.

Education at all levels is valued in the state. In the past few years, the state has invested almost $1 billion of new revenues into the K-12 public education system, including a 26 percent increase in teacher salaries and more than $100 million for school facility improvements.

Arkansas is the only state in the nation with a 10 rating for early childhood education quality standards, according to the National Institute of Education Research. And the state showed a 108 percent increase in the number of students taking Advanced Placement exams - the largest increase any state has achieved in American College Board's 50-year history.

Arkansas leads the nation in Environmental and Spatial Technology (EAST) Labs, a hands-on, advanced computer course that prepares students for the high-tech workplace while they work on important community service projects.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Science and the Arts in Hot Springs consistently ranks among the top 1% of schools in the nation.