Jefferson Laboratories is home to the Food and Drug Administration's National Center for Toxicological Research, as well as the Office of Regulatory Affairs' Arkansas Regional Laboratory which is co-located on the campus. The campus is located in Jefferson, Arkansas, a quiet, rural community in south central Arkansas between Little Rock, the state capital, and the city of Pine Bluff. The Jefferson Laboratories campus sits on 496 acres in the midst of a beautiful pine forest. 

The NCTR occupies 35 buildings with more than one million square feet of floor space which includes state of the art research laboratories and support facilities. 

Nearby Communities

Little Rock, where many of the Center's more than 500 employees live, is 35 miles north of NCTR. It is a vibrant and historic city with an estimated population of 184,000 within the city limits and 580,600 in the four-county metropolitan area. Located in Little Rock are the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) with an enrollment of more than 12,000 students and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) with an enrollment of approximately 2,500 students. NCTR is an easy 40-minute commute from Little Rock on a four-lane, low-traffic interstate. Many NCTR employees make the daily commute either on an employee-sponsored bus that runs to and from the Center each day or in their own vehicles. Car pooling also is popular.

Pine Bluff, with an estimated population of 57,000, is just 20 miles south of NCTR. Many NCTR employees find the quiet atmosphere of Pine Bluff to their liking and choose this smaller community in which to live. The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) is located here and has an enrollment of approximately 3,200. Southeast Arkansas College (SEARK) is also located in Pine Bluff.  Employees who live in Pine Bluff usually drive their own vehicles or carpool to work. There is no bus service to Pine Bluff.

White Hall, a few minutes' drive from NCTR, is located in Jefferson County and is a fast-growing community.  White Hall is about 35 minutes south of Little Rock and 10 minutes north of Pine Bluff, just off of Interstate 530. The current estimated population is 6,000. A major contributor to the growth of White Hall has been its proximity to six major employment centers: the Pine Bluff Arsenal, the National Center for Toxicological Research, Entergy's White Bluff Steam Generating Plant, and the Jefferson Industrial Park.  The White Hall School District attracts many to this small city.

The city of Sheridan is located 30 miles South of Little Rock and offers a small-town atmosphere. The Sheridan School District serves most of Grant County and the eastern section of Saline County. Grant County residents are employed in the timber industry, retails sales, and manufacturing. The city of Sheridan has approximately 3,872 residents and Grant County has over 16,000 citizens. Its proximity to Little Rock, Pine Bluff, and Benton affords residents additional employment opportunities.

Visitors

Visitors to NCTR can fly into Little Rock National Airport, stay at one of the many lodging spots in the State's capitol and drive to NCTR which is in a rural area about 40 minutes away (our address is 3900 NCTR Road, Jefferson, AR 72079 for mapquest searches).  There are no hotels in Jefferson, Arkansas.  Visitors should check in at the parking lot security gate.

Map to NCTR (PDF)