county

Howard County, AR

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

AI Overview

Howard County is a small rural Arkansas county of 12,701 residents with a manufacturing-oriented economy, posting a GDP per capita of $47,872 against a median household income of $45,603 and median worker earnings of $31,743. The labor force is relatively small, with a 57.1% participation rate, 16.7% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and an unemployment rate of 7.5%. Housing costs are low—median home value of $135,400 and median gross rent of $702/month—though the county faces headwinds with a 5.1% population decline over five years and a poverty rate of 19.8%.

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

Population

12,701

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$45,603

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

38.8 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-5.1% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone8,186 (65.1%)
  • Black or African American Alone2,623 (20.8%)
  • Some Other Race Alone879 (7.0%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race465 (3.7%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races345 (2.7%)
  • Asian Alone73 (0.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish1,234
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic305
  3. 3.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)48
  4. 4.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)7
  5. 5.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)3

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

25.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

55.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

18.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

5.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

507

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$47,872

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$25,639

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

7.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

19.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Manufacturing (Group)1,549
  2. 2.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,055
  3. 3.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining398
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)385
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services339

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,464
  2. 2.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,435
  3. 3.Service Occupations984
  4. 4.Sales & Office Occupations832
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations440

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 5.59×)463
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 3.27×)1,688
  3. 3.Information (LQ 1.18×)115
  4. 4.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 0.95×)1,155
  5. 5.Public Administration (LQ 0.76×)187

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$135,400

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$702/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

72.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999456 (12.3%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999386 (10.4%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999374 (10.1%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999303 (8.2%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999270 (7.3%)
  • $60,000 to $69,999200 (5.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

16.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

89.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

57.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$31,743

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

19.8 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone4,068 (79.5%)
  • Carpooled642 (12.6%)
  • Worked At Home155 (3.0%)
  • Walked143 (2.8%)
  • Other66 (1.3%)
  • Public Transit37 (0.7%)

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 Howard 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.