Little Rock Senior AdvisorWhich counties make up the Little Rock metro?
The Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metropolitan area has six counties: Pulaski, Faulkner, Saline, Lonoke, Grant and Perry, home to about 777,607 people in 2025.
| County | Seat | Age 65+ | Assisted living facilities | AL + RCF beds | Projected 2031 need | Nursing homes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pulaski | Little Rock | 75,609 | 18 | 1,647 | 2,306 | 23 |
| Faulkner | Conway | 20,667 | 4 | 387 | 679 | 6 |
| Saline | Benton | 26,399 | 6 | 527 | 858 | 6 |
| Lonoke | Lonoke | 12,920 | 2 | 181 | 423 | 7 |
| Grant | Sheridan | 3,674 | 1 | 69 | 118 | 1 |
| Perry | Perryville | 2,362 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 1 |
Sources: Census Vintage 2025; Health Services Permit Agency Bed Need Book, July 2026; CMS Care Compare.
Where is senior care most concentrated?
In Pulaski County, which holds most of the metro's assisted living and nursing home beds and its largest hospitals; Faulkner and Saline counties follow, while Grant and Perry counties have very few options.
Families in the outer counties often weigh staying close to home in a nursing home or with help at home against moving closer to family in Little Rock, Conway or Benton.
Do the six counties share the same local agencies?
Mostly: CareLink serves Pulaski, Saline, Faulkner and Lonoke counties as the area agency on aging, while Grant County is served from Pine Bluff and Perry County from Russellville; statewide agencies such as the Office of Long Term Care serve all six.
PACE covers Pulaski, Saline, Faulkner and Lonoke counties but not Grant or Perry.
How do we choose between counties?
Start with where the family lives and visits, then weigh supply: Pulaski County offers the most choice, while Grant and Perry County families often look to neighboring counties.
Each county page lists its licensed buildings, its nursing homes and its local agencies.
Which county has the oldest population?
Perry County, where 22.9% of residents were 65 or older in 2025, followed by Saline (19.8%) and Grant (19.6%); Faulkner is the youngest at 15.4%.
Older counties tend to have more demand for in-home care and fewer licensed buildings, which is why families there often look across county lines.
What does the state's 2031 bed need projection mean?
It is the Health Services Permit Agency's estimate of how many assisted living and residential care beds each county will need by 2031, used to decide whether new beds may be approved.
Where the projection exceeds today's supply, the state is more willing to approve new buildings, and families are more likely to meet waiting lists now.
Can a parent move from one county to another and keep Medicaid?
Yes, Arkansas Medicaid is statewide, though waiver services and PACE depend on the new address and provider availability.
Report the move to DHS and confirm services before the moving date.
