county

Hempstead County, AR

Demographic and economic profile of Hempstead County, AR, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Hempstead County is a small rural Arkansas county of roughly 19,800 residents with an economy oriented toward goods-producing industries, posting a GDP per capita of $47,947 against a median household income of $46,787 and median worker earnings of $36,245. The labor force is modest—participation stands at just 51.8%—and educational attainment is limited, with only 14.6% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, though the 3.9% unemployment rate is relatively low. Housing costs are among the lowest in the region, with a median home value of $100,200 and median gross rent of $781/month, though the county has shed roughly 10% of its population over the past five years and carries a 19.0% poverty rate.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

19,778

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$46,787

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

41.2 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-10.2% since 2018

Hempstead County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone10,677 (54.7%)
  • Black or African American Alone5,588 (28.6%)
  • Some Other Race Alone1,239 (6.4%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race1,180 (6.0%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races662 (3.4%)
  • Asian Alone128 (0.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish1,944
  2. 2.Other Asian and Pacific Island41
  3. 3.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)15
  4. 4.German or other West Germanic11
  5. 5.Korean9

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

25.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

55.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

18.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

7.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

753

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$47,947

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$26,620

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

19.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Manufacturing (Group)1,798
  2. 2.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,772
  3. 3.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining651
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)618
  5. 5.Construction (Group)578

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,170
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,829
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,226
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,069
  5. 5.Service Occupations1,036

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 6.17×)746
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 2.03×)1,531
  3. 3.Public Administration (LQ 1.11×)397
  4. 4.Construction (LQ 1.09×)572
  5. 5.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.06×)1,885

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$100,200

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$781/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

71.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999667 (12.4%)
  • $90,000 to $99,999492 (9.2%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999485 (9.0%)
  • $80,000 to $89,999424 (7.9%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999384 (7.2%)
  • $70,000 to $79,999339 (6.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

14.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

83.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

51.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$36,245

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

21.2 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

8.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone6,241 (86.2%)
  • Carpooled570 (7.9%)
  • Worked At Home284 (3.9%)
  • Other82 (1.1%)
  • Public Transit40 (0.6%)
  • Walked19 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

5 counties with comparable population, workforce, income, education, and cost of living. Click any to compare.

More on FDI Connect

Compare Hempstead County against other US geographies, save it to your shortlist, see active property listings on the interactive map, and unlock the full demographic dashboard.

Open full dashboardCreate free account

Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.