Arkansas

Arkansas by the Numbers:
Key Statistical Data and Facts

Key Details

• As of 2022, Arkansas has approximately 3 million residents 
• In 2021, Arkansas had 1,395,709 housing units with an average of 2.53 persons per household. 
• The homeownership rate is 67%, and the median value of owner-occupied homes was $142,100 between 2017 and 2021. 
• Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) was sworn in as the state's 47th governor in 2023 
• Approximately 25.3% of residents have a bachelor's degree or higher 
• In May 2023, the unemployment rate was 2.7%. 
• The median household income is $52,528, and the mean income is $73,126 (2021). 
• Life expectancy in 2020 was 73.8 years; heart disease was the leading cause of death in 2021. 
• Arkansas has an incarceration rate of 942 inmates per 100K (2020), and 66,294 property crimes were recorded in 2022.  

Arkansas Population Demographics

According to 2022 population estimates, Arkansas has approximately 3,045,637 residents. Between 2020 and 2022, the state population grew by 1.1%. Divided by age, 22.9% of residents are under 18, while 17.8% are aged 65 years or older. Females comprise a slight majority, accounting for 50.6% of the state. Between 2017 and 2021, Arkansas had 186,175 veterans, and foreign-born persons comprised 4.9% of the state.  

Arkansas Housing

1,395,709 housing units

In 2022, Arkansas had 1,395,709 housing units with an average of 2.53 persons per household.   Of these, roughly 165,870 were vacant.

67%

As of 2022, Arkansas has a 67% homeownership rate, higher than the national average.

$500,000 or higher

Approximately 28.2% of housing units have a value of less than $99,999, while 5.7% are valued at $500,000 or higher.

$142,100

Between 2017 and 2021, the median value of owner-occupied homes was $142,100.

$803

The median selected monthly owner cost ranged from $373 (without a mortgage) to $1,154 with a mortgage. In comparison, renters paid a median gross rent of $803.

Arkansas Racial Demographics

Elections in Arkansas

Arkansas is considered a Republican state.  Three of the four governors sworn into office between 1996 and 2022 have been Republican. As of 2023, the republican party controls all the major government positions, including the Office of the Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State. Republics also control the state's legislature.  

In 2023, Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) was sworn in as the state's 47th governor, becoming the first woman to hold the office. During the gubernatorial election, she defeated her Democratic rival, Chris Jones, by claiming 63% of the vote.  

Republicans Tim Griffin and Matthew Shepherd serve as President of the Senate and State Speaker of the House, respectively, while John Boozman (R) and Tom Cotton (R) represent the state in the US Senate.  

2020 Presidential Election 

Republican candidate Donald Trump won the 2020 United States presidential election in Arkansas. He won 62.4% of the popular vote with 760,647 cast ballots, while his opponent, Joe Biden, won 34.78% (423,932). Donald Trump claimed victories in all the counties except Chicot, Crittenden, Desha, Jefferson, Lee, Phillips, Pulaski, and St Francis.  

Donald Trump

Donald Trump

Arkansas Voting Statistics

According to the Arkansas Secretary of State, as of 2022, Arkansas has 1,765,681 registered active and inactive voters. The list of registered voters comprises 123,726 Republican voters, 88,508 Democratic voters, and 1,552,641 voters who identify as optional. It also includes voters who register as libertarian, green, and non-partisan. 

General Election

How Educated is Arkansas

As of 2022, 25.3% of residents in Arkansas have a bachelor's degree or higher, which is lower than the national average of 35%. Among residents aged 25 and older, 35% have only a high school degree or equivalent, while 21% have some type of college degree. 7.9% have an associate's degree, while 15.9% have a bachelor's degree. 9.4% of residents within the age range have a graduate or professional degree.

As of 2022, Arkansas has over 50 colleges and universities offering a variety of degrees. The University of Arkansas is the largest university, with 27,000+ enrollments, followed by Arkansas State University and the University of Central Arkansas, with 13,000+ and 10,000+ enrollments.

Arkansas Employment Rate

As of May 2023, Arkansas has an unemployment rate of 2.7%, down from 3.4 recorded the previous year. Out of a civilian labor force of 1,380,800, approximately 1,343,700 were employed, and 37,100 were unemployed. The trade, transportation, and utilities sector provided the most jobs, with 273,800 employees, followed by the government, with 209,100 jobs. Education and health services provided 204,200 jobs, while manufacturing had 164,800 workers.

Compared to the previous year, all the major industries recorded an increase in jobs, with the exception of mining and logging, which shrank by 3.9%. According to census data, 78.9% of residents drove to work alone, 8.9% carpooled, and 9.7% worked from home.

Average Income in Arkansas

Arkansas has a median household income of $52,528 and a mean income of $73,126, according to the 2021 American Community Survey. However, the actual values vary with different households depending on the size and number of earners. Married-couple families earned a median and mean income of $79,407 and $102,157, while nonfamily households earned a median and mean of $29,499 and $42,705. 

Approximately 6.5% of households earned $200,000 or more, while 16.2% earned between $100,000 to $149,999. Roughly 14% of households earned $24,999 or less, while 22.3% earned between $25,000 and $49,000.

Families in Arkansas

Kansas Marriage Rates

Grouped by race, the percentage of married residents was highest among Asians at 59.6%. In comparison, 53.7% of whites were married, 49.6% of Hispanics, and 26.9% of blacks or African Americans.

Arkansas Divorce Rates

Per data published by the National Center for Health Statistics, Arkansas has a life expectancy of 73.8 years (as of 2020). In 2021, the state recorded 35,965 births with a cesarean delivery rate of 34.3 and a mortality rate of 7.3 deaths per 1,000 live births. Approximately 46.3% of births were to unmarried mothers. Among females 15 to 19, the teenage birth rate was 26.5 per 1,000 females. 

In 2021, heart disease was the leading cause of death, accounting for 8,547 mortalities, followed by cancer and Covid 19, with 6,516 and 4,739 deaths. The state also recorded 637 deaths linked to drug overdose. In addition, Arkansas had a firearm injury rate of 23.3 per 100,000 residents and a homicide rate of 11.7 per 100,000 residents.

Life Expectancy in Arkansas

According to the CDC, Arkansas has a life expectancy of 77.5 years at birth. In 2021, heart disease was the leading cause of death in the state, resulting in 7,7404 deaths. It was followed by cancer (6,258 deaths) and Covid (3,098 deaths). Other leading causes of death in the state included diabetes, hypertension, chronic lower respiratory diseases, and stroke. Arkansas also recorded 549 suicides and 633 firearm injuries within the same period.

For females between the age of 15 and 44, the state recorded 60.8 births per 1,000 women. Roughly 35 percent of births were to unmarried mothers, while 29.7 out of 100 births were via caesarian. Teenage pregnancies accounted for 12.7 births out of 1000 females between 15 and 19.

Arkansas Crime Rates

In 2022, Arkansas recorded 66,294 property crimes, according to the Arkansas Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program data. Larceny theft was the most common property crime, with 30,818 recorded incidents. Arkansas also recorded 7,472 cases of motor vehicle theft, 2832 incidents of theft of motor vehicle parts, and 9,206 cases involving theft from motor vehicles. For crimes against persons, simple assault was the most recurring crime, accounting for 25,222 cases, followed by intimidation and aggravated assault with 19,560 and 15,718 offenses.

Arkansas Incarceration Rate

942 inmates

According to the National Institute of Correction, Arkansas has an incarceration rate of 942 inmates per 100,000 residents, higher than the national average.

16,094 inmates

It had 16,094 inmates in prisons and 25,852 out on parole. Roughly 39,870 residents were on parole.

$363,606,185

The state ran 20 state prisons and 4,620 employees with a budget of $363,606,185.

Arkansas Bankruptcy Rate

2022

5,481 bankruptcy filings

In 2022, Arkansas recorded 5,481 bankruptcy filings, the lowest recorded in almost two decades. It was 50% less than the number of cases recorded in 2014 and almost 65% fewer cases than recorded in 2009. The state recorded 2,118 Chapter 7 filings, nineteen Chapter 11 cases, and 3,336 Chapter 13 cases. It also recorded 98 business bankruptcy filings, including fifty-two Chapter 7s, fourteen Chapter 11s, and 24 Chapter 23s. According to the American Banking Institute, compared to other starters, the total number of filings recorded between 2000 and 2022 (relative to the state population) was 42% above average.

Weird Laws in Arkansas

Arkansas is governed by hundreds of state and local laws, a few of which some might consider weird. For instance, an old Arkansas law provided that school teachers who bobbed their hair would not get a raise. Other unusual laws in the state include: