Paragould is a city in and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of
Greene County, and the 19th-largest city in
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
, in the United States. The city is located in northeastern Arkansas on the eastern edge of
Crowley's Ridge
Crowley's Ridge (also Crowleys Ridge) is a geological formation that rises 250 to above the alluvial plain of the Mississippi embayment in a line from southeastern Missouri to the Mississippi River near Helena, Arkansas. It is the most p ...
, a geologic anomaly contained within the
Arkansas Delta
The Arkansas Delta is one of the six natural regions of the state of Arkansas. Willard B. Gatewood Jr., author of ''The Arkansas Delta: Land of Paradox'', says that rich cotton lands of the Arkansas Delta make that area "The Deepest of the Deep ...
.
Paragould is the principal city of the Paragould, Arkansas
Micropolitan Statistical Area and is also a part of the Jonesboro-Paragould
Combined Statistical Area. The population of Paragould was 29,537 as of the
2020 Census, compared to 26,113 at the
2010 census.
History
The city's name is a
blend combining the last names of competing railroad magnates J. W. Paramore and
Jay Gould
Jason Gould (; May 27, 1836 – December 2, 1892) was an American railroad magnate and financial speculator who founded the Gould family, Gould business dynasty. He is generally identified as one of the Robber baron (industrialist), robber bar ...
. Paramore's
Texas & St. Louis Railway (later the Cotton Belt) and Gould's
St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway (later the Missouri Pacific) intersected here in 1882. A group of citizens chose the name, and it is believed to be the only city in the world with this name. For a time, Gould objected to his name's being second and refused to list the new town on his schedules. In 1888, Paragould was the starting point for the
Paragould and Buffalo Island Railway (later the
Paragould Southeastern Railway), which eventually made its way to
Blytheville, Arkansas
Blytheville is one of two county seat, county seats of and the largest city in Mississippi County, Arkansas, Mississippi County, Arkansas, United States. It is approximately north of West Memphis, Arkansas, West Memphis. The population was 13,40 ...
.
Sundown town
From 1888 to 1908, Paragould experienced a series of incidents in which White residents threatened and attacked Black residents. Some Black residents were flogged, and some of their homes and churches were burned. Arkansas Governor
Jeff Davis ordered the state militia not to intervene on behalf of Black citizens. On numerous occasions White residents ordered Black citizens to leave and never return. In 1908, they threatened them to leave or die, which resulted in an almost complete depopulation of African-Americans in the county, and earned Paragould the designation of a
sundown town
Sundown towns, also known as sunset towns, gray towns, or sundowner towns, were all-white municipalities or neighborhoods in the United States. They were towns that practiced a form of racial segregation by excluding non-whites via some combinati ...
.
Black children were not allowed to participate in any form of public education until 1948,
and then by busing them out of the county to
Booker T. Washington High School in
Jonesboro. In 1957, facing
mandated integration, Jonesboro terminated this practice. Prior to 1982, no hotel in Paragould would allow Black people to spend the night. In 1983, when two Black Union Pacific workers attempted to eat at a restaurant, they were locked out. When police reached the scene, they accused the workers of attempting to break into the restaurant.
An informal ban on hiring African-Americans was alleged to exist in Paragould until at least 2002.
Geography
Paragould is located southeast of the middle of Greene County. U.S. Routes
412 and
49 intersect in the city west of downtown. US 412 leads east to the
Missouri
Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
state line at the
St. Francis River
The St. Francis River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, about long, in southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas in the United States. The river drains a mostly rural area and forms part of the Missouri-Arkansas state line along th ...
, and a further northeast to
Kennett, Missouri
Kennett is a city in and the county seat of Dunklin County, Missouri, United States. The city is located in the southeast corner (or " Bootheel") of Missouri, east of Arkansas and from the Mississippi River. It had a population of 10,515 at th ...
; to the west US 412 leads to
Walnut Ridge. US 49 leads northeast to
Piggott and southwest to
Jonesboro. The closest major city is
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
, to the southeast.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.52%, is water.
Climate
Paragould has a
humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
(
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
''Cfa'').
Demographics
2020 census
As of the
2020 United States census, there were 29,537 people, 10,755 households, and 7,439 families residing in the city.
2010 census
As of the
2010 United States Census, there were 26,113 people living in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 94.4% White, 0.8% Black, 0.4% Native American, 0.3% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, <0.1% from some other race and 1.2% from two or more races. 2.8% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
2000 census
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 22,017 people, 8,941 households, and 6,133 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 9,789 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.9% White, <0.1% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.2% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.6% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. 1.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 8,941 households, out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.7% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.8% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $30,815, and the median income for a family was $39,431. Males had a median income of $28,103 versus $20,623 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the city was $18,076. About 8.4% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 12.1% of those under age 18 and 12.1% of those age 65 or over.
Government and infrastructure

Paragould is governed by a mayor and city council. Other city offices include an attorney, treasurer, and chief administrative officer. A city clerk records government activity and is a point of contact for citizens, while various boards and commissions assist with governmental functions.
The city's primary utility provider is Paragould Light Water and Cable. Its formerly used City Light and Water Building from 1938 has faced demolition.
Education

Paragould is home to
Crowley's Ridge College, and a campus of
Black River Technical College.
Paragould has two public school districts serving different parts of the city: the
Greene County Tech School District and the
Paragould School District. It also has
Crowley's Ridge Academy and St. Mary's Catholic School private school systems.
The Northeast Arkansas School District was formed on July 1, 1985, by the merger of the former Paragould School District with the Oak Grove School District.
[ConsolidationAnnex_from_1983.xls]
" Arkansas Department of Education
The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) is a cabinet-level agency of the Arkansas state government overseeing public education for K-12, higher education institutions, and career and technical education.
The ADE also contains the Arkansas ...
. Retrieved on October 13, 2017. By 1997 the name of the new district became the Paragould School District.
Television
KPMF-LD, a
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV (stylized as mynetworkTV; unofficially abbreviated MNT or MNTV) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its Fox Television Stations ...
/
Quest
A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. It serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of every nat ...
affiliated TV station serving the
Jonesboro and
Memphis markets, and owned by
HC2 Holdings
Innovate Corp. (formerly known as HC2 Holdings, Inc. and Primus Telecommunications Group, Inc.) is an American public financial services company founded in 1994.
History
Beginning (1994–1997)
Primus commenced operations in 1994 intent on b ...
.
K17LV-D, translator station of
ABC/
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
/
CW+ affiliated station
KAIT
KAIT (channel 8) is a television station in Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States, affiliated with ABC, NBC, and The CW Plus. It is owned by Gray Media alongside Telemundo affiliate KJTB-LD (channel 36) and KJBW-LD (channel 35). The three stat ...
in Jonesboro, and owned by
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
-based
Gray Television
Gray Media, Inc., doing business as Gray Television, is an American publicly traded television broadcasting company based in Atlanta. Founded in 1946 by James Harrison Gray as Gray Communications Systems, the company owns or operates 180 statio ...
.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Highways
Health care
Arkansas Methodist Medical Center is Paragould's only hospital. The 127-bed acute-care hospital's campus includes a professional office building with a community wellness center.
Law enforcement
On December 15, 2012, it was announced that "beginning in 2013, the department would deploy a new street crimes unit to high crime areas on foot to take back the streets." The remaining town hall meetings to inform the public of the new plan were cancelled due to the volume of threats received as a result of national media exposure. This was done for public safety, as continuing to hold the meetings may have posed a danger to attendees. The planned unit was not deployed.
Cultural appearances
The documentary short film ''Udaan'' (2021) was made by Pakistani film maker
Amman Abbasi about Baneen Khan, a female Pakistani student from
Karachi
Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...
enrolling at
Black River Technical College.
Notable people
*
Weldon Bowlin,
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
player
*
Jeanne Carmen
Jeanne Laverne Carmen (August 4, 1930 – December 20, 2007) was an American model, actress and trick-shot golfer.
Early life
Carmen was born in Paragould, Arkansas. As a child, she picked cotton before running away from home at age 13. As ...
, actress, glamour girl and famed trick-shot golfer
*
Iris DeMent
Iris Luella DeMent (born January 5, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. DeMent's musical style includes elements of folk, country and gospel. She has been nominated for a Grammy Award twice.
Early life
DeMent was born in Parag ...
, singer-songwriter
*
Van Des Autels, film actor, radio announcer and TV news anchor
*
Jimmie Lou Fisher
Jimmie Lou Fisher (née Cooper; December 31, 1941 – July 11, 2022) was an American politician from Arkansas. A Democrat, she was the longest serving State Treasurer in Arkansas history.
Early life and career
Jimmie Lou Cooper was born in ...
,
Arkansas State Treasurer
The treasurer of Arkansas acts as the head banker for the State of Arkansas, handling deposits, withdrawals, redemptions of state warrants, and investments of state funds. The position was created in 1819 when Arkansas became a Territory (countr ...
, 2002 Democratic nominee for
governor of Arkansas
The governor of Arkansas is the head of government of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Governor (United States), governor is the head of the Executive (government), executive branch of the Politics and government of Arkansas, Arkansas government a ...
*
Junius Marion Futrell
Junius Marion Futrell (August 14, 1870 – June 20, 1955) was an American attorney who served as the 30th governor of Arkansas from 1933 to 1937, and the acting governor for a short period in 1913. He also served in the Arkansas Hous ...
,
governor of Arkansas
The governor of Arkansas is the head of government of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Governor (United States), governor is the head of the Executive (government), executive branch of the Politics and government of Arkansas, Arkansas government a ...
, 1933–1937
*
Trice Harvey, California politician
*
Homer Lenderman, former state representative for Craighead and Greene counties
*
Sam O'Steen,
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
-nominated editor
*
Lee Purcell,
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
-nominated actress
*
Marlin Stuart, Major League Baseball player
*
Marko Stunt, Professional Wrestler for
All Elite Wrestling
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...
*
George Taylor,
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
awardee for his actions during the Civil War
*
Richard Travis, actor from 1940s films
*
James Wayne Wood, former aeronautical engineer, U.S. Air Force officer, test pilot and astronaut
References
External links
*
Paragould Regional Chamber of Commerce
{{Authority control
Cities in Arkansas
Cities in Greene County, Arkansas
County seats in Arkansas
Populated places established in 1883
1883 establishments in Arkansas