What is going on in the Ozarks???
Are you looking at the two counties in NW AR? Benton is a business hub (Walmart HQ) that has consciously invested in recreational infrastructure like extensive mountain biking trails that run through some urban/semi-urban areas for easy access. Madison had ~16K in the 2020 census so that might be a statistical blip, but also its position situates it well for outdoors recreation like biking and access to the Buffalo National Waterway. Combine that with cheap COL + surge in remote work possibilities and my only surprise is that Washington County (Fayetteville + University of Arkansas) isn't dark green.
No I'm surprised there is such consistent positive growth across Southern Missouri and Northern Arkansas given that most rural regions continue to see declines.