County profile

Jefferson County

Arkansas · ACS 2020–2024

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Latest estimates

At a glance

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Total population
64,802
Median household income
$51,096
People below poverty
18.6%
Median home value
$113,400

Income

The median income of households in Jefferson County, Arkansas was $51,096. An estimated 8% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 3.6% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Jefferson County, Arkansas in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 8
$10,000 to $14,999 5.4
$15,000 to $24,999 11.5
$25,000 to $34,999 9.8
$35,000 to $49,999 14.5
$50,000 to $74,999 17.7
$75,000 to $99,999 14.3
$100,000 to $149,999 10.5
$150,000 to $199,999 4.7
$200,000 or more 3.6

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in Jefferson County, Arkansas in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 49681
Female 41570

An estimated 67.5% of households received earnings. An estimated 39% of households received Social Security and an estimated 23.3 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $23,404. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in Jefferson County, Arkansas in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 67.5
Social Security 39
Retirement income 23.3
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 10.4
Cash public assistance income 6.8

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 18.6 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 23.8% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 12.8% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 18.4% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Jefferson County, Arkansas in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 18.6
Children under 18 years below poverty 23.8
People 65 years old and over below poverty 12.8
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 18.4

In 2020-2024, 14.7 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 40% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 37% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 42.6% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Jefferson County, Arkansas in 2020-2024, 94.9% had health insurance coverage and 5.1% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 55.8% and public coverage was 53.3%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 2%.


In 2020-2024, Jefferson County, Arkansas had a total population of 64,802 - 32,483 (50.1%) females and 32,319 (49.9%) males. The median age was 39.7 years. An estimated 21.5% of the population was under 18 years, 31.6% was 19 to 44 years, 24.9% was 45 to 64 years, and 18.6 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for Jefferson County, Arkansas in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 2003 1818
5 to 9 1886 1972
10 to 14 2062 1673
15 to 19 2235 2503
20 to 24 2344 1910
25 to 29 2200 1958
30 to 34 2254 1881
35 to 39 2171 1793
40 to 44 1916 2010
45 to 49 1843 1837
50 to 54 2022 1919
55 to 59 2074 2356
60 to 64 2012 2099
65 to 69 1644 2165
70 to 74 1718 1878
75 to 79 1033 1010
80 to 84 662 900
85 and over 240 801

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 37.1% were White; 56.5% were Black or African American; 7.6% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 0.8% were Asian; 26.8% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 3.8% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 2.7% of the people in Jefferson County, Arkansas were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 36.7% of the people in Jefferson County, Arkansas were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 24,017 households in Jefferson County, Arkansas. The average household size was 2.46 people.

Married-couple households made up 36.2% of the households in Jefferson County, Arkansas while cohabiting couple households made up 4.1% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 37.4% of all households, while 22.3% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 16.1% of households were male householders living alone, and 18.1% were female householders living alone, for a total of 34.2% of all households.

In Jefferson County, Arkansas, 26.5% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 35.4% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Jefferson County, Arkansas in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 36.2
Cohabiting Couples 4.1
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
22.3
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
37.4

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 37.7% of males and 34.7% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 42.7 37.1
Now married, except separated 37.7 34.7
Separated 1.3 4.3
Widowed 4.8 10.8
Divorced 13.5 13

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Jefferson County, Arkansas, 1,764 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 39.1% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 98% of the people living in Jefferson County, Arkansas were U.S. natives. 79.7% of the Jefferson County, Arkansas population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 2% of Jefferson County, Arkansas residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 42.1% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 44.8 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Jefferson County, Arkansas come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for Jefferson County, Arkansas.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in Jefferson County, Arkansas in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 60.3
Asia 34.2
Europe 2.8
Africa 2.1
Northern America 0.6
Oceania 0

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Jefferson County, Arkansas in 2020-2024, 3.1 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 1.9% of people at least five years old; 0.8% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in Jefferson County, Arkansas in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 1.9
Other Indo-European languages 0.7
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 0.3
Other languages 0.2

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 87.2 % of the people at least one year old living in Jefferson County, Arkansas were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Jefferson County, Arkansas in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 87.2
Different house, same county 7
Different county, same state 4.2
Different state 1.5
Abroad 0.1

Education

In 2020-2024, 88.4 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 20.1% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 11.6% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Jefferson County, Arkansas was 14,258 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 1,093 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 9,714. College or graduate school enrollment was 3,451.

Educational Attainment of People in Jefferson County, Arkansas in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 11.6
High school diploma or equivalency 42.1
Some college, no degree 21.1
Associate's degree 5.2
Bachelor's degree 14.3
Graduate or professional degree 5.8

Disability

In Jefferson County, Arkansas, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 20.5 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 7.5% of people under 18 years old, to 19% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 41% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Jefferson County, Arkansas, 47.1 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 48.6% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 71.9% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 23.6% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 3.9 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 17,821 71.9
Federal, state, or local government workers 5,838 23.6
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 970 3.9

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in Jefferson County, Arkansas worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in Jefferson County, Arkansas in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 1.3
Construction 2.9
Manufacturing 17.4
Wholesale trade 1.4
Retail trade 11.6
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 6.1
Information 0.4
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 4.2
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 7.2
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 23.8
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 9
Other Services, except public administration 4.1
Public administration 10.6

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in Jefferson County, Arkansas in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 7,350 29.7
Service occupations 5,001 20.2
Sales and office occupations 5,018 20.3
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 1,678 6.8
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 5,726 23.1

Commuting to Work

An estimated 84.8% of Jefferson County, Arkansas workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 7.8% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 22.7 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in Jefferson County, Arkansas in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 84.8
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 7.8
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 0.6
Walked 1.2
Other means 0.6
Worked from home 5

In 2020-2024, Jefferson County, Arkansas had a total of 30,679 housing units. Of these housing units, 72.1% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 15.3% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 12.5% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Jefferson County, Arkansas in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 72.1
Apartments in multi-unit structures 15.3
Mobile homes 12.5
Boat, RV, van, etc 0.1

6.4% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 6.4% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Jefferson County, Arkansas was 5.5 rooms, and of these housing units 65.5% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Jefferson County, Arkansas had 24,017 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 6,662 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 61.8% while renters occupied 38.2%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.44 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.5.

3.6% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 12.6% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 7.5% and another 20.5% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in Jefferson County, Arkansas:

House Heating Fuel Used in Jefferson County, Arkansas in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 45.5
Electricity 52.9
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 0.1
All other fuels 0.9
No fuel used 0.6

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Jefferson County, Arkansas was $113,400.

Of the owner-occupied households, 46.2 % had a mortgage. 53.8% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $1,195 and for owners without a mortgage it was $420.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Jefferson County, Arkansas was $888. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.