county

Ashley County, AR

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

AI Overview

Ashley County is a small, rural Arkansas county of 18,722 residents with an economy centered on agriculture and resource-based industries, reflected in a GDP per capita of $45,750 against a median household income of $44,266. The labor market is constrained, with a 46.7% participation rate, 6.1% unemployment, and only 12.2% of adults holding a bachelor's degree, though median worker earnings of $34,143 and a median home value of $88,800 point to a low-cost operating environment. The county has shed 8.8% of its population over five years, carries a 22.7% poverty rate, and a median age of 42.8 years, signaling a shrinking and aging workforce.

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

Population

18,722

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$44,266

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

42.8 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-8.8% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone12,681 (68.8%)
  • Black or African American Alone4,366 (23.7%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race871 (4.7%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races333 (1.8%)
  • Some Other Race Alone85 (0.5%)
  • Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander Alone54 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish674
  2. 2.Other Indo-European31
  3. 3.Other Asian and Pacific Island15
  4. 4.German or other West Germanic10
  5. 5.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)3

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

22.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

56.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

21.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

2.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

688

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$45,750

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$24,754

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

6.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

22.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,718
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)1,017
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)693
  4. 4.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities598
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services554

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,693
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,505
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,284
  4. 4.Service Occupations1,175
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations971

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 3.51×)367
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.54×)1,007
  3. 3.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.49×)570
  4. 4.Public Administration (LQ 1.36×)422
  5. 5.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.18×)1,811

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$88,800

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$640/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

70.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,999551 (10.6%)
  • $90,000 to $99,999464 (8.9%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999444 (8.5%)
  • $60,000 to $69,999431 (8.3%)
  • $70,000 to $79,999405 (7.8%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999325 (6.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

12.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

87.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

46.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$34,143

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

23.9 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

9.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone5,620 (84.6%)
  • Carpooled597 (9.0%)
  • Worked At Home216 (3.3%)
  • Other110 (1.7%)
  • Bicycle43 (0.6%)
  • Public Transit30 (0.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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