For those readers who like to quantify their environment, we present a statistical look at Little Rock. Numbers come from the U.S. Census 2006 American Community Survey and the Greater Little Rock Chamber of Commerce.

Physical environment
Little Rock is 286 feet above sea level and includes residential areas up to 630 feet. It encompasses hilly and mountainous areas in the west and central areas and flatlands along the Arkansas River. Pulaski County is 781 square miles in size. Little Rock is 119.5 square miles and North Little Rock is 49.3 square miles.

Weather
According the Greater Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, the normal daily mean temperature in Central Arkansas is 62.1 degrees Fahrenheit, and the annual average relative humidity is 71 percent. Average annual rainfall is 50.93 inches, and snow is 4.3 inches per year.

Population
The population of Little Rock in 2006 was 184,422. The city was 51.7 percent female and 48.3 percent male. The median age was 36.2; 25.8 percent of the population was under 18, and 11.8 percent was 65 or older.  The larger metropolitan statistical area — consisting of Perry, Pulaski, Saline, Grant, Lonoke, and Faulkner counties — had a population of 643,272. 941,858 people live within a 50-mile radius of Little Rock.

Households and families
There were 80,610 households in Little Rock in 2006. Average household size was 2.23 people. Families made up 58.8 percent of the households, and 38.3 percent of households consisted of married-couple families. Non-family households accounted for 41.2 percent of the total.

Race, ethnicity
In Little Rock, 2006 racial proportions were as follows:

Education
In 2006, 90.7 percent of people 25 or older were high school graduates; 38.7 percent had at least a bachelor’s degree. The total school enrollment in Little Rock was 51,034. Nursery school and kindergarten enrollment was 7,432. Elementary and high school enrollment was 31,610. College and graduate school enrollment was 12,992.

Disability
23,971 non-institutionalized civilians in Little Rock over the age of 5 — 14.2 percent of the population — reported a disability in 2006. Of these, 7.5 percent were aged 5-15, 61.7 percent were 16-64, and 30.8 percent were 65 and over.

Veteran status
Among people in Little Rock over 18 years old, 8.7 percent were veterans.

Occupations
In 2006, among the 93,636 people in Little Rock’s workforce, 21.6 percent worked for the government and 73.3 percent worked in the private sector. The five most common occupational categories were educational services, health care and social assistance (29.7 percent); professional, scientific, management, administrative and waste services (9.7 percent); retail trade (9.5 percent); arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation and food services (8.3 percent); and finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (7.7 percent). Little Rock had a 5 percent unemployment rate.

Commuting
82.1 percent of Little Rock workers commuted alone last year. Carpoolers represented 11.8 percent, 1.4 percent took public transport, and 1.3 percent walked. Eight-tenths of a percent used a bicycle, skateboard, Segway, go-kart, moped, all-terrain vehicle, personal watercraft or some other means. OK, maybe not personal watercraft. The remaining 2.6 percent worked at home.

Income
The median income of Little Rock households was $44,586 last year. The median income for an individual was $27,788. 54.9 percent of households make under $50,000; 83.5 percent make under $100,000; 16.5 percent make $100,000 or more, while 3.9 percent make $200,000 and up.

Poverty
In 2006, 10.8 percent of Little Rock families earned income below the poverty line and 14.2 percent of all Little Rockers were impoverished. (2006 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services guidelines set the poverty line at $9,800 annual income for an individual and $20,000 annual income for a family of four.) Among those below the poverty line, 19.2 percent were under 18 and 13.1 percent were 65 or older. The rate of poverty among single-parent, female-headed families was 28.9 percent.

Distances by highway from Little Rock to major nearby cities