Polk County is a county located in the U.S.
state of Arkansas
. As
of 2000, the population was 20,229.
The county seat
is Mena
. Polk
County is Arkansas's 48th county, formed on November 30, 1844, and
named for
James Polk,
President of the United
States. It is an alcohol prohibition or
dry county. It is also the setting for
Stephen Hunter's fictional
Bob Lee Swagger, series, the most notable
being
Black Light.
Geography
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total
area of 862 square miles (2,234 km²), of which,
859 square miles (2,226 km²) of it is land and
3 square miles (8 km²) of it (0.35%) is water.
Major highways
Adjacent counties
National protected area
Demographics
Age pyramid Polk County
As of the
census of 2000, there were 20,229
people, 8,047 households, and 5,793 families residing in the
county. The
population density
was 24 people per square mile (9/km²). There were 9,236 housing
units at an average density of 11 per square mile (4/km²). The
racial makeup of the county was 94.69%
White, 0.16%
Black or
African American, 1.49%
Native American, 0.21%
Asian, 0.06%
Pacific Islander, 1.72% from
other races, and 1.67%
from two or more races. 3.50% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
There are 8,047
households out of which
31.90% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.40%
were
married couples living together, 8.40%
had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.00% were
non-families. 25.00% of all households were made up of individuals
and 12.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or
older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family
size was 2.97.
In the county the population was spread out with 25.60% under the
age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 25.00% from 25 to 44, 24.50% from
45 to 64, and 17.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median
age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 97.00 males. For
every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $25,180, and
the median income for a family was $31,379. Males had a median
income of $23,397 versus $17,294 for females. The
per capita income for the county was
$14,063. 18.20% of the population and 14.00% of families were below
the
poverty line. Out of the total
people living in
poverty, 23.50% are under
the age of 18 and 16.20% are 65 or older.
Cities and towns
References
- Based on 2000
census data
U.S.
Highway 59/U.S. Highway
71
U.S.
Highway 270
U.S.
Highway 278
Highway 4
Highway 8
Highway 84
Highway 88
(north)
(east)
(southeast)
(south)
, Oklahoma
(southwest)
, Oklahoma
(part)
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