en Dallas County, Arkansas

Dallas County
Dallas County
County
	Courthouse in Fordyce
	Location within the U.S. state of Arkansas
	Arkansas's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 33°58′37″N 92°40′23″W / 33.976944444444°N 92.673055555556°W
Country	United States
State	Arkansas
Founded	January 1, 1845
Named for	George M. Dallas
Seat	Fordyce
Largest city	Fordyce
Area
• Total	668 sq mi (1,730 km2)
• Land	667 sq mi (1,730 km2)
• Water	0.7 sq mi (2 km2) 0.1%
Population (2020)
• Total	6,482
• Density	9.7/sq mi (3.7/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	4th

Dallas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,482,^[1] making it the fourth-least populous county in Arkansas. The county seat is Fordyce.^[2] Dallas County is Arkansas's 49th county, formed on January 1, 1845; it was named for George M. Dallas, 11th Vice President of the United States.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 668 square miles (1,730 km²), of which 667 square miles (1,730 km²) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) (0.1%) is water.^[3]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Grant County (northeast)
Cleveland County (east)
Calhoun County (southeast)
Ouachita County (southwest)
Clark County (west)
Hot Spring County (northwest)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1850	6,877		—
1860	8,283		20.4%
1870	5,707		−31.1%
1880	6,505		14.0%
1890	9,296		42.9%
1900	11,518		23.9%
1910	12,621		9.6%
1920	14,424		14.3%
1930	14,671		1.7%
1940	14,471		−1.4%
1950	12,416		−14.2%
1960	10,522		−15.3%
1970	10,022		−4.8%
1980	10,515		4.9%
1990	9,614		−8.6%
2000	9,210		−4.2%
2010	8,116		−11.9%
2020	6,482		−20.1%
2023 (est.)	6,185	^[4]	−4.6%
U.S. Decennial Census^[5] 1790–1960^[6] 1900–1990^[7] 1990–2000^[8] 2010^[9]

2020 census

Dallas County racial composition^[11]
Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	3,425	52.84%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	2,582	39.83%
Native American	14	0.22%
Asian	7	0.11%
Other/Mixed	253	3.9%
Hispanic or Latino	201	3.1%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 6,482 people, 2,969 households, and 1,797 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census,^[12] there were 9,210 people, 3,519 households, and 2,431 families residing in the county. The population density was 14 people per square mile (5.4 people/km²). There were 4,401 housing units at an average density of 7 units per square mile (2.7 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 56.96% White, 40.98% Black or African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 1.01% from other races, and 0.59% from two or more races. 1.92% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,519 households, out of which 29.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.00% were married couples living together, 13.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.90% were non-families. 28.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.20% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 24.50% from 25 to 44, 24.10% from 45 to 64, and 17.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $26,608, and the median income for a family was $32,630. Males had a median income of $28,538 versus $17,884 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,610. About 13.30% of families and 18.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.80% of those under age 18 and 20.00% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Prior to 2004, this county was considered an "ancestral" Democratic county, where Democrats won every presidential race with exceptions for the 1968 campaign of George Wallace and the 1972 and 1984 landslides of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, respectively. Former Governor Bill Clinton won this county twice in his presidential runs: 1992 and 1996. Al Gore won this county in 2000, the most recent Democrat to do so.

United States presidential election results for Dallas County, Arkansas^[13]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	1,482	63.77%	798	34.34%	44	1.89%
2020	1,573	59.38%	963	36.35%	113	4.27%
2016	1,509	54.46%	1,165	42.04%	97	3.50%
2012	1,665	53.99%	1,337	43.35%	82	2.66%
2008	1,757	52.95%	1,471	44.33%	90	2.71%
2004	1,700	50.18%	1,671	49.32%	17	0.50%
2000	1,571	47.25%	1,710	51.43%	44	1.32%
1996	1,041	30.31%	2,118	61.66%	276	8.03%
1992	1,458	37.15%	2,107	53.68%	360	9.17%
1988	1,947	49.19%	1,990	50.28%	21	0.53%
1984	2,361	52.80%	2,035	45.51%	76	1.70%
1980	1,596	35.16%	2,838	62.52%	105	2.31%
1976	1,012	23.61%	3,266	76.20%	8	0.19%
1972	2,152	60.55%	1,402	39.45%	0	0.00%
1968	672	18.43%	1,253	34.36%	1,722	47.22%
1964	1,625	47.14%	1,779	51.61%	43	1.25%
1960	659	25.20%	1,639	62.68%	317	12.12%
1956	984	35.63%	1,726	62.49%	52	1.88%
1952	737	25.03%	2,202	74.80%	5	0.17%
1948	152	8.93%	1,174	68.98%	376	22.09%
1944	266	17.65%	1,238	82.15%	3	0.20%
1940	118	8.04%	1,295	88.28%	54	3.68%
1936	103	6.71%	1,433	93.29%	0	0.00%
1932	150	6.53%	2,139	93.16%	7	0.30%
1928	503	32.73%	1,030	67.01%	4	0.26%
1924	401	26.68%	1,068	71.06%	34	2.26%
1920	659	36.19%	1,140	62.60%	22	1.21%
1916	527	31.43%	1,150	68.57%	0	0.00%
1912	228	17.33%	654	49.70%	434	32.98%
1908	636	44.26%	721	50.17%	80	5.57%
1904	496	43.06%	604	52.43%	52	4.51%
1900	514	40.35%	746	58.56%	14	1.10%
1896	479	31.55%	1,032	67.98%	7	0.46%

Townships

Townships in Arkansas are the divisions of a county. Each township includes unincorporated areas; some may have incorporated cities or towns within part of their boundaries. Arkansas townships have limited purposes in modern times. However, the United States census does list Arkansas population based on townships (sometimes referred to as "county subdivisions" or "minor civil divisions"). Townships are also of value for historical purposes in terms of genealogical research. Each town or city is within one or more townships in an Arkansas county based on census maps and publications. The townships of Dallas County are listed below; listed in parentheses are the cities, towns, and/or census-designated places that are fully or partially inside the township.^[14]^[15]