Top public schools: Under $100,000
Harrison, Ark.
Education quality score: 80.01
Median home price: $99,800
Population: 13,108
Nestled in the Ozark Mountains, this rural gem offers folksy thrills: Crawdad Days Music Festival, Hemmed in Hollow Waterfalls, Arkansas Hot Air Balloon State Championship Race, and Buffalo National River. Founded in 1869, Harrison has a historic district and job opportunities in manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism. Fed Ex Freight hires 1,400 people; North Arkansas College maintains a staff of 240.
The Harrison High School Goblins are a perennial gridiron menace, capturing the state championship in 1999. The Goblin Booster Club recently collected $7 million — primarily from local businesses — to build a new football stadium that seats 5,600 (half the town). The pupils also kick academic butt: Three schools are rated 10, and four are 9's. With its well-developed gifted and talented program and an intimate 12.5-to-1 student-teacher ratio, Harrison offers serious book learning in a mountain idyll.
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Photo credit: Jstephenconn
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