Census: Bono new hot spot

Since the 2020 census, the census bureau estimates Bono grew from 2,409 to 2,690, an increase of 11.67 percent.

Bono Mayor Danny Shaw wasn’t surprised.

“When we did the census back in 2020, I knew that a lot of things that were just about to happen,” Shaw told The Sun. “The East Hills subdivision was built about census time and it was all $200,000-plus homes. It just exploded. It happened immediately. And then, we added another street called Stella Street … and they were all sold before the foundation was laid.”

Shaw said Bono is the new place to be.

“I think Bono is just a good distance from Jonesboro. It’s a good alternative for people to live a few miles out and enjoy a quieter lifestyle and drive to Jonesboro or maybe Walnut Ridge. Bono just happens to be the place that fits that bill.”

Shaw said the city has added amenities, such as a new city park, and has worked to improve the streets, sidewalks and drainage in recent years.

“We’ve got some hurdles to overcome, just like Brookland did when they started growing real quick,” Shaw acknowledged. “We’ve got a sewer plant that’s got to be upgraded and we’re working on that and have been for a long time, trying to come up with the design and funding and everything to build a new sewer plant that will take us out to the next generation, the next 30 years or so.”

The second-fastest growing city may also be a surprise. It was Lake City, growing 9.5 percent since the 2020 census. The Eastern District’s county seat grew from 2,322 in 2020 to 2,543 by mid-2022.

Brookland, which had been the fastest-growing city, came in third. From the official 2020 census, the government thinks Brookland has grown by 7.5 percent, from 4,065 in 2020 to 4,369 in 2022.

Of course, Jonesboro grew the most numerically. The city grew by 1,301 between the official 2020 census count of 78,575 and the July 1, 2022, estimate of 79,876. But that’s only a growth of 1.66 percent. Paragould grew by 635, or 2.15 percent, during that period, from 29,543 to 30,178.

Elsewhere in Northeast Arkansas, most cities continued to lose ground. Among the exceptions were Pocahontas and Walnut Ridge, both of which grew by about 2.1 percent.

Northwest Arkansas continues to be setting the pace for growth, with Bentonville growing by 6.27 percent, Fayetteville, by 5.28 percent, and Centerton, located just west of Bentonville by 20.7 percent.