The 2020 U.S. Census showed the three largest cities in central Arkansas all grew, with Little Rock passing the 200,000 mark to reach 202,591. North Little Rock remained the region’s second-largest city with 64,591 people, but Conway came close behind at 64,134, just 457 people, or 0.7%, shy of North Little Rock.
The three cities account for 46% of the population of the metropolitan statistical area and about 70% of the region’s jobs, according to Metroplan, the area planning agency. As the chart shows, Little Rock’s growth trend has been steady during the past 40 or so years. Conway grew quickly after 1990, but that rate has slowed since 2010.
The information comes from “Metro Trends: Demographic Review and Outlook,” (PDF) released by Metroplan last month and focusing on results of the 2020 Census.
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