According to data from the General Register of Employees and Unemployed, released by the Ministry of Labor and Employment, Arapiraca was the fourth largest generator of formal jobs in the country in 2015.

However, according to Tupinologist Eduardo de Almeida Navarro, the word "Arapiraca" originated from the term Tupi language arupare'aka, which means "barbs".

[7] It was below Arapiraca, located on the banks of Riacho Seco, where Manoel André Correia rested and had the idea of building a hut.

Manoel opened a trail along which it was possible to take animal convoys to the village of Porto da Folha (today the city of Traipu), as it was known until 1876.

As a district, Arapiraca was successively subordinated to Penedo, Porto Real do Colégio, São Brás and Limoeiro de Anadia.

It was elevated to the category of municipality on October 30 1924, consisting of territories dismembered from Palmeira dos Índios, Porto Real, São Brás, Traipu and Limoeiro de Anadia.

[11] The precipitation falls mainly in the form of rain and can also be accompanied by electrical discharges and strong gusts of wind.

[22] The municipality also has 2 public universities, UFAL and UNEAL, and 1 federal institute, IFAL, in addition to several private institutions of higher education, such as Cesmac University Center, UniSEB, Arcanjo Mikael Higher Education Center, Integrated Colleges of Patos etc.

[23] In addition, Arapiraca has what is considered one of the best and most modern digital planetariums in Brazil with an auditorium with a capacity for 235 people being inaugurated on October 2, 2012[23] The municipality also has a wide network of digital libraries built in several squares in Arapiraca called "Arapiraquinhas", with its first unit inaugurated in August 2010, in the Jardim Esperança neighborhood.

The two teams play their games at Estádio Municipal Coaracy da Mata Fonseca, popularly known as Fumeirão, which opened in 1953 and has a capacity of 15,000.