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Leading the list is University of Arkansas Grantham, our #1 most diverse college in Arkansas. On overall diversity, it scores 77.6 out of 100. Racial-ethnic diversity scores 66.8, with a gender-diversity score of 95.7.
by our College Data Analytics Team
If you’re seeking a diverse and multi-faceted college experience, you’ve come to the right place. This list highlights 56 colleges that stand out for their student bodies in Arkansas, using our 2026 methodology.
We measure this ranking on several factors of the student body: racial/ethnic makeup, geographic origin, gender balance, and age range. To help you decide, College Factual reviewed 56 colleges, drawing primarily on U.S. Department of Education data (IPEDS and College Scorecard). Learn more about our ranking methodology.
Your ideal mix depends on what matters most to you. Refine the list by location, or explore the overall, racial-ethnic, gender, economic, and age diversity rankings, or other rankings below.
Want to compare schools head to head? We built a tool called College Combat to weigh schools on the factors you care about most.
Explore the leading colleges below:
Leading the list is University of Arkansas Grantham, our #1 most diverse college in Arkansas. On overall diversity, it scores 77.6 out of 100. Racial-ethnic diversity scores 66.8, with a gender-diversity score of 95.7.
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences earned the #2 place in Arkansas. The school's overall diversity score is 75.5 out of 100. Racial-ethnic diversity scores 61.9, with a gender-diversity score of 83.4.
A rank of #3 makes Ecclesia College one of the most diverse colleges in Arkansas. On overall diversity, it scores 74.7 out of 100. Racial-ethnic diversity scores 64.8, with a gender-diversity score of 97.7.
You'll find a welcoming community at Lyon College, which ranked #4 this year. Lyon College scores 73.9 out of 100 for overall diversity. Racial-ethnic diversity scores 66.4, and gender diversity 97.8.
You'll find a welcoming community at John Brown University, which ranked #5 this year. On overall diversity, it scores 72.5 out of 100. Racial-ethnic diversity scores 55.3, with a gender-diversity score of 96.6.
University of Arkansas at Little Rock ranked #6 on our 2026 list of the most diverse colleges. It scores 71.9 out of 100 for overall diversity. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 64.0, alongside a 95.6 gender-diversity score.
Central Baptist College earned the #7 position in Arkansas. It scores 71.7 out of 100 for overall diversity. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 61.0, with a gender-diversity score of 98.6.
Arkansas State University ranked #8 on our 2026 list of the most diverse colleges. It scores 71.6 out of 100 for overall diversity. On racial-ethnic diversity it scores 53.6, with a gender-diversity score of 92.3.
Southern Arkansas University Main Campus came in at #9 in this year's ranking. On overall diversity, it scores 71.4 out of 100. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 60.4, and gender diversity 98.1.
University of the Ozarks placed #10 among the most diverse colleges in Arkansas. University of the Ozarks scores 69.7 out of 100 for overall diversity. On racial-ethnic diversity it scores 67.2, and gender diversity 99.0.
Champion Christian College landed the #11 spot in Arkansas this year. On overall diversity, it scores 69.4 out of 100. Racial-ethnic diversity scores 58.9, alongside a 92.3 gender-diversity score.
Henderson State University earned the #12 position in Arkansas. The school's overall diversity score is 69.1 out of 100. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 50.7, with a gender-diversity score of 97.2.
Harding University landed the #13 spot in Arkansas this year. It scores 68.9 out of 100 for overall diversity. On racial-ethnic diversity it scores 41.6, with a gender-diversity score of 98.4.
Crowley's Ridge College came in at #14 in this year's ranking. On overall diversity, it scores 68.5 out of 100. Racial-ethnic diversity scores 42.6, with a gender-diversity score of 99.8.
University of Arkansas-Fort Smith came in at #15 in this year's ranking. It scores 68.2 out of 100 for overall diversity. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 58.0, alongside a 97.2 gender-diversity score.
Baptist Health College Little Rock ranked #16 on our 2026 list of the most diverse colleges. It scores 67.6 out of 100 for overall diversity. Racial-ethnic diversity scores 48.1, with a gender-diversity score of 46.9.
University of Arkansas at Monticello ranked #17 on our 2026 list of the most diverse colleges. On overall diversity, it scores 67.6 out of 100. On racial-ethnic diversity it scores 51.3, alongside a 95.8 gender-diversity score.
University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College landed the #18 spot in Arkansas this year. The school's overall diversity score is 67.2 out of 100. Racial-ethnic diversity scores 61.3, and gender diversity 92.4.
Philander Smith University earned the #19 position in Arkansas. On overall diversity, it scores 66.9 out of 100. Racial-ethnic diversity scores 40.7, alongside a 99.8 gender-diversity score.
Arkansas State University-Newport landed the #20 spot in Arkansas this year. It scores 66.3 out of 100 for overall diversity. On racial-ethnic diversity it scores 54.4, with a gender-diversity score of 93.1.
NorthWest Arkansas Community College ranked #21 on our 2026 list of the most diverse colleges. It scores 66.2 out of 100 for overall diversity. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 56.2, and gender diversity 97.7.
South Arkansas College came in at #22 in this year's ranking. It scores 66.2 out of 100 for overall diversity. Racial-ethnic diversity scores 50.1, and gender diversity 87.7.
Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas landed the #23 spot in Arkansas this year. Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas scores 65.1 out of 100 for overall diversity. On racial-ethnic diversity it scores 56.5, and gender diversity 93.9.
Arkansas Tech University ranked #24 on our 2026 list of the most diverse colleges. The school's overall diversity score is 65.1 out of 100. On racial-ethnic diversity it scores 45.3, with a gender-diversity score of 98.0.
University of Central Arkansas earned the #25 position in Arkansas. It scores 65.0 out of 100 for overall diversity. Racial-ethnic diversity scores 50.9, with a gender-diversity score of 94.2.
These colleges rounded out the top of the list:
*These averages are for the top 25 ranked colleges only.
This ranking is based on several factors of the student body: racial/ethnic makeup, geographic representation, gender balance, and age range. The racial-ethnic minorities percentage is calculated by taking the total number of students, subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity is unknown, and dividing by total enrollment.
This list is compiled by College Factual, 2026 edition.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.