Lafe at a glance
- Population: 417 — 286th in Arkansas, which has 500 Census places (US Census Bureau, Vintage 2023).
- 2020 Census base: 418 residents (US Census Bureau, 2020 Census).
- 2020 to 2023 change: down roughly 0.2% across the 2020-to-2023 comparison (US Census Bureau).
- Rank among Arkansas places: 286th by size among 500 communities (US Census Bureau).
- Size percentile: it exceeds roughly 43% of Arkansas's Census places by population (US Census Bureau).
- Coordinates: 36.2092, -90.5043 (US Census Bureau Gazetteer).
- Nearest larger cities: Oak Grove Heights, AR (6 mi); Marmaduke, AR (7 mi); Paragould, AR (11 mi); Rector, AR (12 mi); Corning, AR (15 mi); each population is a US Census Bureau estimate.
- Nearest smaller places: Knobel, AR (9 mi); Peach Orchard, AR (10 mi); Delaplaine, AR (12 mi) (US Census Bureau estimates).
What a personal loan costs in Lafe
The defining feature of a personal loan is the fixed installment: the same payment every month until the term ends.
APR, not the simple interest rate, reflects what the loan actually costs once fees are included; the personal loan calculator puts a figure on it.
Choosing a longer term eases the monthly budget but adds interest over the life of the loan; a shorter term costs more per month and less overall.
Shop with more than one lender and treat pre-qualification as an estimate, since the final terms follow a full application.
Arkansas lending rules that apply in Lafe
Read the table as the compliance picture for a lender serving Lafe: label, sourced figure, publisher and date.
| Rule | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| State lending regulator | Arkansas State Bank Department Source says: "The Department is charged with regulating state-chartered commercial banks with main offices in Arkansas". | Arkansas State Bank Department as of 2026-09-16 |
| Maximum legal interest rate (usury cap) | 17% per annum for loans not made by or to governmental units or by federally insured depository institutions (Amendment 89, effective January 1, 2011) Source says: "shall not exceed seventeen percent (17%) per annum". | Arkansas Legislature — Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 89, § 3 (proposed by H.J.R. 1004 of 2009) as of 2026-09-16 |
| Payday lending status | Not permitted — all storefront payday lending eliminated; the Attorney General has worked to eliminate all forms of payday lending since 2008 Source says: "the Attorney General's office has worked to eliminate all forms of payday lending in Arkansas"; "all storefront payday loan operations in Arkansas have been shut down". | Arkansas Attorney General — Consumer Protection Division as of 2026-09-16 |
| Small-loan / installment lender licensing | See the latest published figure value_text left null: the State Bank Department does not publish a consumer small-loan license rate schedule that could be verified; storefront payday lending has been eliminated (see Payday lending status). See the linked regulator page for the licensee categories it supervises. | Arkansas State Bank Department as of 2026-09-16 |
How to compare offers in Lafe
Before you commit to a personal loan in Lafe, work through these steps:
- Pull your free credit reports and dispute any error — it is the cheapest way to improve the rate you are offered.
- Run your figures through the personal loan calculator on this site so you know the payment before a lender quotes one.
- Pre-qualify with at least three lenders and compare the APR, not the interest rate.
- Check that the lender is licensed in Arkansas using the regulator named above.
- Read the disclosure for origination fees and any prepayment penalty before you sign.