The US state of Arkansas is located in the southern part of the nation. The name comes from the Quapaw Indians Algonquian name. Arkansas shares its borders along with six other states: Missouri towards the north, Mississippi and Tennessee to the east, the state of Louisiana towards the south, Texas within the southwest, Oklahoma towards the west, and Mississippi River on a large part of the eastern border. Its diverse geography varies from the mountainous areas of the Ouachita Mountains and the Ozarks, that make up the U.S. Interior Highlands, to the eastern lowlands along the Mississippi River. The most densely inhabited and capital city is Little Rock, located within the central region of the state.
In 2010, the gross domestic product for the state of Arkansas was $103 billion. In 2004, the per capita household median income was $35,295, according to the Census Bureau of the US. Agricultural production within the state of Arkansas consists of soybeans, poultry and eggs, sorghum, cattle, rice, cotton, hogs, and milk. Its industrial outputs are food processing, electric equipment, fabricated metal products, machinery, bromine, vanadium and paper products.
As of August the year 2011, the state's unemployment rate is 8.3%.
Arkansas is home to numerous global company headquarters, including Wal-Mart, J.B. Hunt and Tyson Foods. This area of the state has experienced an economic boom since the 1970s as a result.
In recent years, automobile parts manufacturers have opened factories within eastern Arkansas so as to support auto plants in different states.
Tourism is also very vital to the economy of Arkansas; the official state nickname "The Natural State" was initially created for state tourism advertising in the 1970s, and is still regularly utilized to this day.
According to Forbes.com Arkansas currently ranks 21st for The Best States for Business, 40th for labor, 9th for Business Cost, 22nd for Regulatory Environment, 17th for Economic Climate, 9th for Growth Prospects, 34th in Gross Domestic Product, and positive economic change of 3.8% or ranked 22nd.
The state of Arkansas likewise ranks third in terms of channel catfish aquaculture, with about 19,200 acres (78 km2) under catfish farming in 2010. The peak of catfish farming in the state of Arkansas was in the year 2002, when 38,000 acres (150 km2) were under farming. During 2007, the state's catfish producers generated sales of $71.5 million, 16% of the entire U.S. market. Arkansas was the first state to develop commercial catfish farms during the late 1950s. The number of catfish farms in the state of Arkansas grew through the 1990s as farmers entered the catfish business as a way to provide additional income in a time of low prices for cotton and soybeans. Banks loaned money so as to support what they saw as a stable source of income.