Independence County, AR

County

Add Comparison

2024 Population

38,175

US Senator

John Boozman

Republican Party

US Senator

Tom Cotton

Republican Party

2024 Median Age

38.7

0.769% 1-year decrease

2024 Poverty Rate

20.4%

3.86% 1-year increase

2024 Median Household Income

$56,609

1.07% 1-year growth

2024 Median Property Value

$142,600

18.3% 1-year growth

2024 Employed Population

16,602

0.478% 1-year growth

About

None of the households in Independence County, AR reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language. This does not consider the potential multi-lingual nature of households, but only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household.

97.2% of the residents in Independence County, AR are U.S. citizens.

The largest universities in Independence County, AR are University of Arkansas Community College-Batesville (619 degrees awarded in 2023) and Lyon College (150 degrees).

In 2024, the median property value in Independence County, AR was $142,600, and the homeownership rate was 69.2%.

Most people in Independence County, AR drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 19.5 minutes. The average car ownership in Independence County, AR was 2 cars per household.

Independence County, AR borders Cleburne County, AR, Izard County, AR, Jackson County, AR, Lawrence County, AR, Sharp County, AR, Stone County, AR, and White County, AR.

United States Arkansas Batesville, AR

Population & Diversity

Independence County, AR is home to a population of 38.2k people, from which 97.2% are citizens. As of 2024, 3.79% of Independence County, AR residents were born outside of the country (1.45k people).

In 2024, there were 21.3 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (31.3k people) in Independence County, AR than any other race or ethnicity. There were 1.47k Other (Hispanic) and 1.1k Two Races Including Other (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

97.2%

2024 Citizenship

97.7%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 97.2% of Independence County, AR residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Independence County, AR was 97.7%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Independence County, AR compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Independence County, AR

White (Non-Hispanic)
31.3k ± 636
Other (Hispanic)
1.47k ± 347
Two Races Including Other (Non-Hispanic)
1.1k ± 616

8.86%

Hispanic Population

3.38k people

8.86% of the people in Independence County, AR are hispanic (3.38k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Independence County, AR as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the County level, so we are showing data for Arkansas.

Most Common Origin

Mexico
66,711 ± 6,271 people
El Salvador
16,390 ± 3,135 people
India
10,242 ± 2,480 people

In 2023, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Arkansas was Mexico, the natal country of 66,711 Arkansas residents, followed by El Salvador with 16,390 and India with 10,242.

Foreign-Born Population

3.79%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

1.45k people

3.61%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

1.38k people

As of 2024, 3.79% of Independence County, AR residents (1.45k people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Independence County, AR was 3.61%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Independence County, AR compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
657 ± 192
Gulf War (2001-)
355 ± 105
Gulf War (1990s)
145 ± 107

Independence County, AR has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 1.85 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Independence County, AR.

Economy

The economy of Independence County, AR employs 16.6k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Independence County, AR were Manufacturing (2,902 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (2,758 people), and Retail Trade (1,893 people), and the highest paying industries were Utilities ($105,144), Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities ($52,076), and Mining, Quarrying, & Oil & Gas Extraction ($50,658).

Employment

Occupations

16.6k

2024 Value

± 1,007

0.478%

1 Year growth

± 8.69%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Independence County, AR grew at a rate of 0.478%, from 16.5k employees to 16.6k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Independence County, AR, are Production Occupations (1,577 people), Sales & Related Occupations (1,558 people), and Office & Administrative Support Occupations (1,545 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Independence County, AR.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Arkansas.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in Arkansas (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

Industries

Employment by Industries

16.6k

2024 Value

± 1,007

0.478%

1 Year growth

± 8.69%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Independence County, AR grew at a rate of 0.478%, from 16.5k employees to 16.6k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Independence County, AR, are Manufacturing (2,902 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (2,758 people), and Retail Trade (1,893 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Independence County, AR, though some of these residents may live in Independence County, AR and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$41,324

Median earning men ± $2,784

$33,546

Median earning women ± $2,245

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($89,295), Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities ($62,382), and Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance ($58,793).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($48,216), Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities ($43,477), and Public Administration ($40,815).

Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Arkansas.

Y-Axis

2.24%

Year-over-year growth

Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 1.35M people employed in Arkansas. This represents a 2.24% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 8.69%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in Arkansas.

Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments

65
Retail Trade
62
Other Services (except Public Administration)
48
Retail Trade

The visualization shows the distribution of establishments by industry and by size according to the number of employees.

The visualization shows the number of establishments and its share across establishment sizes.

Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll

$257k
Manufacturing
$184k
Health Care and Social Assistance
$53.6k
Retail Trade

The chart shows the total annual payroll and the average annual payroll by industry.

Civics

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Arkansas went to Donald J. Trump with 64.2% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (33.6%), followed by Robert Kennedy (1.12%).

John Boozman and Tom Cotton are the senators currently representing the state of Arkansas. In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

Arkansas is currently represented by 4 members in the U.S. house, and members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms.

Presidential Elections

Presidential Popular Vote Over Time

Voting results are not available for Independence County, AR. Showing the available data for Arkansas.

2024 Election Results

Donald J. Trump (64.2%)
Republican Party
Kamala Harris (33.6%)
Democratic Party
Robert Kennedy (1.12%)
Independent Party

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Arkansas went to Donald J. Trump with 64.2% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (33.6%), followed by Robert Kennedy (1.12%).

The following chart shows the popular vote results in Arkansas for each registered party from 1976 to 2024.

Senator Elections

US Senators from Arkansas

Senatorial voting results are only available at the state level. Showing data for Arkansas.

John Boozman

Senator from Arkansas

Assumed office on January 3, 2011

Tom Cotton

Senator from Arkansas

Assumed office on January 3, 2015

John Boozman and Tom Cotton are the senators currently representing Arkansas.

In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

The following chart shows elected senators in Arkansas over time, excluding special elections, colored by their political party.

Education

In 2023, universities in Independence County, AR awarded 769 degrees. The student population of Independence County, AR in 2023 is skewed towards women, with 726 male students and 976 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Independence County, AR are White (580 and 77.7%), Hispanic or Latino (76 and 10.2%), Unknown (29 and 3.89%), and Two or More Races (23 and 3.08%).

The largest universities in Independence County, AR by number of degrees awarded are University of Arkansas Community College-Batesville (619 and 80.5%) and Lyon College (150 and 19.5%).

The most popular majors in Independence County, AR are General Health Services (132 and 17.2%), Liberal Arts & Sciences (118 and 15.3%), and Nursing Assistant & Patient Care Assistant (51 and 6.63%).

The median tuition cost for private four year colleges is $29,900.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University

Measure

In 2023 in Independence County, AR, the percentage of applicants admitted was 65.5%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 14.3%. The number of students enrolled in 2023 was 1,702 (42.7% men and 57.3% women).

The line chart shows the evolution of the percentage of applicants admitted, admitted who enrolled or the number of students enrolled according to the option selected in the upper button.

Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2023 there were 1,702 students enrolled in Independence County, AR, 42.7% men and 57.3% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 1,163 records, of which 61.7% were women and 38.3% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

Liberal Arts & Sciences
55 degrees awarded
General Health Services
48 degrees awarded
General Cosmetology
21 degrees awarded

In 2023, the most common concentation for 1 to 2 Year Postsecondary Certificate recipients in Independence County, AR was Liberal Arts & Sciences with 55 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a 1 to 2 Year Postsecondary Certificate from schools in Independence County, AR according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

University of Arkansas Community College-Batesville
619 degrees awarded
Lyon College
150 degrees awarded

In 2023, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was University of Arkansas Community College-Batesville with 619 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2023, 302 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Independence County, AR, which is 0.647 times less than the 467 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2023, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 580 degrees mean that there were 7.63 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Hispanic or Latino, with 76 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Universities

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($29,900) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2023.

Public, 2-year ($1,542) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2023.

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($1,500) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Independence County, AR was $142,600 in 2024, which is 0.429 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $120,500 to $142,600, a 18.3% increase. The homeownership rate in Independence County, AR is 69.2%, which is higher than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Independence County, AR have an average commute time of 19.5 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Independence County, AR is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

In 2025, 13.4% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Independence County, AR. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator grew 0.249%.

Housing

Property

$142,600

Median Property Value 2024

±$13,680

$10,128

Median Property Taxes

±$793

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Independence County, AR the largest share of households pay taxes in the < $800 range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Independence County, AR compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

Rent vs Own

69.2%

Homeownership

2024

66.2%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 69.2% of the housing units in Independence County, AR were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 67.6%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Independence County, AR compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$56,609

Median Household Income

± $4,487

14.6k

Number of Households

± 961

In 2024, the median household income of the 14.6k households in Independence County, AR grew to $56,609 from the previous year's value of $56,009.

The following chart displays the households in Independence County, AR distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $75k - $100k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Independence County, AR is from Arkansas.

0.448

2023 Wage GINI in Arkansas

0.452

2022 Wage GINI in Arkansas

In 2023, the income inequality in Arkansas was 0.448 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.73% decline from 2022 to 2023, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for Arkansas was lower than than the national average of 0.476. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in Arkansas in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in Arkansas across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024

Drove Alone (80.6%)
Carpooled (10.4%)
Worked At Home (5.84%)

In 2024, 80.6% of workers in Independence County, AR drove alone to work, followed by those who carpooled to work (10.4%) and those who worked at home (5.84%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

19.5 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Independence County, AR have a shorter commute time (19.5 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 2.11% of the workforce in Independence County, AR have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Independence County, AR compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Independence County, AR distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Independence County, AR have 2 cars.

Poverty

Severe Housing Problems

In 2025, 13.4% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Independence County, AR. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator grew 0.249%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the population living with severe housing problems.

Poverty & Diversity

20.4% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Independence County, AR (7.61k out of 37.3k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 55 - 64, followed by Females 35 - 44 and then Males 55 - 64.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Independence County, AR is White, followed by Hispanic and Other.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Children in Poverty

In 2025, 18.1% of the children was living in poverty in Independence County, AR. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 8.5%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the children living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals
Florida
4,915 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798. New York has the second highest (5,087), followed by Florida (4,915).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

Security

Crimes & Accidents

Indicator

In 2022, the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population was 496 in Independence County, AR. From 2014 to 2022, the indicator declined 27.5 per 100,000 population.

The graph shows the trend in the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population.

Health

90% of the population of Independence County, AR has health coverage, with 37.4% on employee plans, 25.4% on Medicaid, 14.2% on Medicare, 11.7% on non-group plans, and 1.35% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Independence County, AR see 1,301 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,301 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 2232 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 540 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.6% were men and 50.4% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

1,301 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Independence County, AR

Primary care physicians in Independence County, AR see an average of 1,301 patients per year. This represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,301 patients).

The following chart shows how the number of patients seen by primary care physicians has been changing over time in Independence County, AR in comparison to its neighboring geographies.

Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 25.8% under 18 years, 19.5% between 18 and 34 years, 37.6% between 35 and 64 years, and 17.1% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.6% were men and 50.4% were women.

The following chart shows the number of people with health coverage by gender.

Uninsured People

9.96%

Uninsured

37.4%

Employer Coverage

25.4%

Medicaid

14.2%

Medicare

11.7%

Non-Group

1.35%

Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Independence County, AR declined by 3.1% from 10.3% to 9.96%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Independence County, AR changed over time compared with the percent of individuals enrolled in various types of health insurance.

Health Indicators

Health Outcomes

Indicator

In 2025, the number of deaths among residents under age 18 per 100,000 population was 59.1 in Independence County, AR.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Independence County, AR.

Health Behaviors

Indicator

In 2025, the percentage of the adult population (age 18 and older) that reports a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2 (age-adjusted) was 39.6% in Independence County, AR.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Independence County, AR.