Fayetteville,
Arkansas
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Fayetteville is the second-largest city in Arkansas and county seat of Washington County. The city is on the outskirts of the Boston Mountains, deep within the Ozarks. Known as Washington until 1829, the city was named after Fayetteville, Tennessee, from which many of the settlers had come. It was incorporated on November 3, 1836, and was rechartered in 1867. The four-county Northwest Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area is ranked 105th in terms of population in the United States with 463,204 in 2010 according to the United States Census Bureau. The city had a population of 93,949 at the 2020 Census.Fayetteville is home to the University of Arkansas, the state's flagship university. When classes are in session, thousands of students on campus dramatically change the city's demographics. Thousands of Arkansas Razorbacks alumni and fans travel to Fayetteville to attend football, basketball, and baseball games. The city of Fayetteville is colloquially known as the "Track Capital of the World" due to the success and prestige of the University of Arkansas cross country and track & field programs. The University's men's cross country and track and field programs have won a combined 41 national championships to date with the women's teams adding 5 national championships since 2015. Fayetteville was named the third best place to live in the United States in the 2016 U.S. News Best Places To Live Rankings, and one of the best places to retire in the South. Forbes also ranked Fayetteville as the 24th-best city for business and careers in 2016. Lonely Planet named Fayetteville among its top 20 places to visit in the South in 2016. The city hosts the Walmart Shareholders Meetings each year at the Bud Walton Arena.
