Arkansas County, Arkansas Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Arkansas County, Arkansas, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Arkansas County, Arkansas. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Arkansas County, Arkansas. The estimated population of Arkansas County, Arkansas is 17,273 people, with a median age of 41.4.

We can look at the total population in Arkansas County over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
17,273
-2.75% -5.88%
2020
17,761
-0.85% -
2019
17,914
-1.16% -
2018
18,124
-1.24% -
2017
18,352
- -

Population of Arkansas County, Arkansas by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
68.6%
70.2%
-2.28%
Black/African American
25.7%
26%
-1.15%
Native
0.2%
0%
0.00%
Hispanic
3.7%
3%
+23.33%
Asian
0%
0%
0.00%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
0%
0.00%
Two Or More Races
1.8%
0.9%
+100.00%
Other
0%
0%
0.00%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of Arkansas County, Arkansas by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 41.4 +0.98% 40.1 +0.5% 42.5 0%
2020 41 +0.74% 39.9 -0.25% 42.5 +3.16%
2019 40.7 -1.69% 40 -0.74% 41.2 -2.37%
2018 41.4 +1.22% 40.3 +1% 42.2 +2.43%
2017 40.9 - 39.9 - 41.2 -

The median age of Arkansas County, Arkansas gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 1,140 +9.81% 1,253 -20.07% 1,249 1,012
10 to 19 1,198 -5.07% 1,081 -6.68% 1,137 983
20 to 29 900 -6.34% 1,104 -6.03% 843 1,033
30 to 39 1,160 -12.49% 1,181 -9.99% 1,011 1,066
40 to 49 1,043 -6.76% 1,050 -2.33% 965 1,018
50 to 59 1,240 -9.21% 1,309 -12.65% 1,125 1,149
60 to 69 1,194 +4.76% 1,290 -3.72% 1,242 1,238
70+ 910 +1.51% 1,299 -1.2% 919 1,283

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Arkansas County, Arkansas is $55,022.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for Arkansas County.

  • Under 25
    $45,483.00
  • 25 to 44
    $66,736.00
  • 45 to 64
    $53,998.00
  • 65 and over
    $49,413.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in Arkansas County, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Arkansas County, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of Arkansas County, Arkansas is currently $70,145.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

2.59% of households in Arkansas County are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of Arkansas County against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    25.66%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    16.79%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    23.28%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    14.44%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    11.84%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    5.41%
  • $200,000 or more
    2.59%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Arkansas County is $28,815.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of Arkansas County by the total population of Arkansas County.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Arkansas County, Arkansas, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Arkansas County to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    6.63%
  • Bachelor's degree
    19.39%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    7.50%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    64.02%
  • Less than high school diploma
    2.46%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in Arkansas County that are over the age of 16.

The total population of Arkansas County over the age of 16 is 13,697.

Of those people, a total of 59.20% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in Arkansas County is 56.70%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 805 24.00% 29.50%
20 to 24 years 904 88.50% 4.40%
25 to 29 years 972 81.90% 6.20%
30 to 34 years 997 82.80% 6.40%
35 to 44 years 2,081 78.30% 4.70%
45 to 54 years 2,089 83.20% 3.60%
55 to 59 years 1,167 63.80% 1.20%
60 to 64 years 1,341 55.50% 0.10%
65 to 74 years 2,096 28.60% 0.80%
75 years and over 1,245 3.10% 0.00%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Arkansas County. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 9,940 60.70% 2.30%
Black or African American 3,357 55.70% 9.90%
American Indian and Alaska Native 35 51.40% 44.40%
Asian 8 25.00% 0.00%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0 0.00% 0.00%
Other 119 82.40% 15.30%
Two or more races 238 35.30% 0.00%
Hispanic or Latino 399 77.20% 9.40%
Not Hispanic or Latino 9,713 60.30% 2.10%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Arkansas County as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Arkansas County is 7,762, with median earnings of $38,273.00.

Women in Arkansas County, Arkansas earning approximately 61.80% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 7,762 $38,273.00
Male 4,019 $45,072.00
Female 3,743 $27,837.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 883 $64,180.00
Business and Financial 180 $57,500.00
Computer and Mathematical 32 $58,333.00
Architecture and Engineering 67 $76,875.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 77 $57,321.00
Community and Social Service 116 $55,000.00
Legal 69 $95,665.00
Educational and Library 699 $33,750.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 60 $66,667.00
Healthcare Practitioners 494 $43,804.00
Healthcare Support 165 $15,625.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 47 $32,708.00
Law Enforcement 90 $40,795.00
Food Preparation and Serving 334 $10,568.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 193 $28,906.00
Personal Care and Service 199 $17,741.00
Sales 529 $40,755.00
Office and Administrative Support 902 $30,613.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 245 $41,250.00
Construction and Extraction 325 $41,691.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 299 $46,607.00
Production 912 $33,506.00
Transportation and Material Moving 320 $43,333.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 733 $64,362.00 150 $44,896.00
Business and Financial 141 $85,521.00 39 $30,982.00
Computer and Mathematical 25 $58,750.00 7 $0.00
Architecture and Engineering 57 $82,679.00 10 $0.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 58 $56,429.00 19 $65,781.00
Community and Social Service 51 $51,477.00 65 $58,162.00
Legal 8 $0.00 61 $95,878.00
Educational and Library 77 $50,586.00 622 $21,979.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 6 $0.00 54 $75,000.00
Healthcare Practitioners 84 $88,125.00 410 $43,587.00
Healthcare Support 23 $32,679.00 142 $15,568.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 41 $0.00 6 $0.00
Law Enforcement 60 $40,625.00 30 $0.00
Food Preparation and Serving 118 $6,446.00 216 $13,944.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 120 $33,438.00 73 $18,438.00
Personal Care and Service 9 $0.00 190 $17,939.00
Sales 252 $58,750.00 277 $19,331.00
Office and Administrative Support 91 $32,196.00 811 $29,774.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 245 $41,250.00 0 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 296 $43,594.00 29 $0.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 275 $48,052.00 24 $0.00
Production 620 $36,627.00 292 $26,719.00
Transportation and Material Moving 282 $47,500.00 38 $14,583.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 6,595 households in Arkansas County, with an average household size of 2.58 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 4,196 families in Arkansas County with an average family size of 3.2 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 3,219 333 644 2,399
Average Household Size 3.02 4.7 3.97 1.33
Total Families 3,219 333 644 0
Average Household Size 3.02 3.92 3.75 0

Poverty

Of the 4,196 families in Arkansas County, 11.60% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Arkansas County:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 8,776 housing units in Arkansas County, Arkansas.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 6,595 75.15%
Vacant 2,181 24.85%

21.56% of the total 8,776 housing units in Arkansas County are rental units. This is approximately 1,892 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 4,400 are occupied by the owner - or 50.14% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Arkansas County is $699.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Arkansas County that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    303
  • Less than $500
    569
  • $500 to $999
    1,095
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    228
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    0
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    0
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    0
  • $3,000 or more
    0

Property Value

The median value of a property in Arkansas County is $114,200.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Arkansas County that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    680
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    1,252
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    821
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    846
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    378
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    374
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    39
  • $1,000,000 or more
    10

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in Arkansas County. The chart below shows the number of properties in Arkansas County that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    486
  • 1940 to 1949
    363
  • 1950 to 1959
    1,037
  • 1960 to 1969
    1,318
  • 1970 to 1979
    1,972
  • 1980 to 1989
    1,279
  • 1990 to 1999
    1,054
  • 2000 to 2009
    915
  • 2010 to 2013
    352
  • 2014 or later
    0

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in Arkansas County that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    575
  • 1 vehicle available
    1,987
  • 2 vehicles available
    2,771
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    1,262

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in Arkansas County get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in Arkansas County that commute to work in a particular way.

17.9 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Arkansas County.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    1,040
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    2,102
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    1,314
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    959
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    421
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    207
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    616
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    62
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    53
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    247
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    368
  • 90 or more minutes
    152

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Arkansas County, Arkansas in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.

Places in Arkansas County, Arkansas

We have data for 23 places in Arkansas County, Arkansas. Click on a place below to see more information about the demographics of that place.