Conway is a city in Faulkner County, Arkansas, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 64,134 at the 2020 census, making Conway the eighth-most populous city in Arkansas. It is located within Central Arkansas and serves as a regional hub for Faulkner County and surrounding areas. Conway is home to three post-secondary educational institutions, earning it the nickname The City of Colleges.
History The city of Conway was founded by Asa P. Robinson, who came to the area shortly after the Civil War. Robinson was the chief engineer for the Little Rock-Fort Smith Railroad (now the Union Pacific). Part of his compensation was the deed to a tract of land, one square mile, located near the old settlement of Cadron. When the railroad came through, Robinson had deeded a small tract of his land back to the railroad for a depot site. He laid off a town site around the depot and named it "Conway Station" in honor of a famous Arkansas family. Conway Station contained two small stores, two saloons, a depot, some temporary housing, and a post office. Despite being founded as a railroad town, there is currently no passenger service; this is attributed to the increasing emphasis placed on cars.
In 1878, Father Joseph Strub, a priest in the Roman Catholic Holy Ghost Fathers, arrived in Arkansas. A native of Alsace-Lorraine, Strub was expelled from Prussia during the Kulturkampf in 1872. He moved to the United States, settling in Pittsburgh, where he founded Duquesne University in October 1878. Difficulties with Bishop John Tuigg led Strub to leave Pittsburgh in late October 1878 to travel to Conway. In 1879, Strub convinced the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad to deed along the northern side of the Arkansas River to the Holy Ghost Fathers in order to found the St. Joseph Colony. This included land on which Father Strub founded and built St. Joseph Catholic Church of Conway. As part of the land deal, the railroad offered land at 20 cents per acre to every German immigrant. In order to attract Roman Catholic Germans to Conway and the surrounding areas, Father Strub wrote The Guiding Star for the St. Joseph Colony. In addition to extolling the qualities of Conway and the surrounding area, Father Strub provided information on how best to travel from Europe to Conway. By 1889, over 100 German families had settled in Conway, giving the town many of its distinctively German street and business names.
On April 10, 1965, an F4 tornado struck Conway, causing six deaths and 200 injuries.
Geography Conway is located in southwestern Faulkner County. Interstate 40 passes through the northern and eastern sides of the city, with access from Exits 124 through 132. Via I-40, Memphis is to the east, Little Rock is to the east (south), Russellville is to the west, and Oklahoma City is to the west.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Conway has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.54%, is water.
Climate The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Conway has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition Historical racial composition 2010 2000 1990 1980 1970Non-Hispanic White 77.4% 84.1% 90.5% 90.9% 92.0%Black or African American 15.6% 12.0% 8.5% 8.3% 8.0%Native Hawaiian andother Pacific Islander 0.05% 0.03% 0.02% — —American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.44% 0.36% 0.34% — —Hispanic or Latino 5.09% 2.26% 0.43% 0.5% —Asian 1.9% 1.24% 0.46% — —Other race or multiracial 4.6% 2.2% 0.12% — 0.17%
+Conway city, Arkansas – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop.2000Pop.2010Pop.2020% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)35,81744,22342,31782.97%75.07%65.98%Black or African American alone (NH)5,2119,11211,71812.07%15.47%18.27%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)1482432220.34%0.41%0.35%Asian alone (NH)5361,1131,2071.24%1.89%1.88%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)1328350.03%0.05%0.05%Other race alone (NH)38752620.09%0.13%0.41%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)4211,1164,0790.98%1.89%6.36%Hispanic or Latino (any race)9832,9984,2942.28%5.09%6.70%Total43,16758,90864,134 100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census As of the 2020 census, there were 64,134 people, 25,370 households, and 14,609 families residing in the city. The median age was 30.7 years. 21.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 12.4% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 90.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 87.2 males age 18 and over.
95.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 4.5% lived in rural areas.
There were 25,370 households in Conway, of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 39.9% were married-couple households, 20.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 32.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 27,503 housing units, of which 7.8% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.2%.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number PercentWhite 43,182 67.3%Black or African American 11,808 18.4%American Indian and Alaska Native 311 0.5%Asian 1,215 1.9%Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 47 0.1%Some other race 2,213 3.5%Two or more races 5,358 8.4%
Population estimates and projections The 2025 projected population for Conway is 73,622. This projection assumes an annual rate of change of 2.9%, consistent with the population change from 2022 to 2023 according to the US Census Bureau's 2023 Population Estimates Program.
2010 census As of the census of 2010, there were 58,908 people, 23,205 households, and 13,969 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 24,402 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 77.4% White, 15.6% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 1.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.4% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races. 5.1% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 23,205 households, out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.2% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.8% were non-families. 27.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.7% under the age of 18, 22.9% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 18.5% from 45 to 64, and 8.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27.3 years. There were 51.7% females and 48.3% males. For ages under 18, there were 49.2% females and 50.8% males.
The median income for a household in the city was $42,640, and the median income for a family was $63,860. The per capita income for the city was $42,582. About 9.3% of families and 16.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.0% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.
47.6% of Conway's population describes themselves as religious, slightly below the national average of 48.8%. 44.5% of people in Conway who describe themselves as having a religion are Baptist (21.7% of the city's total population). 9.2% of people holding a religion are Catholic (4.5% of the city's total population). The proportions of Methodists and Pentecostals are higher than the national average.
Economy Conway was home to one of the world's largest school bus manufacturers, IC Corporation. The Conway plant was one of only two IC manufacturing plants; the other is located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. IC Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Navistar International Corporation of Lisle, Illinois. IC was previously known as American Transportation (AmTran) Corporation and Ward Body Works. The company was founded in 1933. IC Corporation closed its plant and moved all bus manufacturing operations to its Tulsa plant in 2010, largely due to incentives offered by the city of Tulsa.
R. D. "Bob" Nabholz founded Nabholz Construction in Conway in 1949. It currently employs over 800 people and has been listed by Engineering News-Record (ENR) magazine as one of the Top 400 General Contractors every year since 1986. Currently, the company is ranked #161. Conway Corporation handles the local utilities (cable TV, Internet, and telephone services, in addition to electricity and water) for the city of Conway.
Acxiom Corporation, an interactive marketing services company, was founded in 1969 in Conway.
On June 19, 2008, Hewlett-Packard announced it would be opening a facility with 1,200 employees in 2009. The building, built by Nabholz Construction and located in the Meadows Office and Technology Park, has since been abandoned by HP and is now leased to Gainwell Technologies.
On December 16, 2021, Arkansas-based company Westrock Coffee announced the planned opening of a new plant in Conway. The company purchased a facility that is expected to create 250 jobs.
Largest employers The largest employers in Conway as of May 2023 were as follows: RankEmployerEmployees1Conway Regional Health System 1,6502University of Central Arkansas1,6003Acxiom1,4504Conway Public School District1,1505Conway Human Development Center9006Walmart 8257Gainwell Technologies6508Virco Manufacturing6509Home BancShares55010Nabholz Construction550
Government and politics
Mayor–city council
Conway operates within the mayor–city council form of government. The mayor is elected by a citywide election to serve as the city's chief executive officer (CEO) by presiding over all city functions, policies, rules, and laws. Once elected, the mayor also allocates duties to city employees. The Conway mayoral election coincides with the election of the President of the United States. Mayors serve four-year terms and can serve unlimited terms.
The city council is the unicameral legislative of the city, consisting of two members from each of the city's four wards. Also included in the council's duties is balancing the city's budget and passing ordinances. The body also controls the representatives of specialized city commissions underneath their jurisdiction.
Arts and culture
The Conway Symphony Orchestra performs many times throughout the year, and the Conway Community Arts Association has been presenting theatre and other art opportunities to the community for over 40 years. The Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, based in Conway, is the state's only professional Shakespeare theater. It holds an annual summer festival in June.
There are also art, music, and theater opportunities provided by Conway's three colleges. The University of Central Arkansas's Public Appearances program provides dance, music, and theater offerings each year.
The national award-winning community theatre, The Lantern Theatre, is located downtown and offers a wide variety of plays and musicals year-round.
Conway Public Schools have theater and music programs, with large concert and marching bands that consistently receive high marks in regional competitions.
One of the city's largest annual events, Toad Suck Daze, has been held since 1982. The three-day community festival incorporates live music, food and craft vendors, and amusement rides during the first weekend of May. Proceeds from the festival fund college scholarships for local students.