Counties in Arkansas by population

Pulaski County had the highest population of 75 counties in 2021, at 398,104. Calhoun County had the lowest, at 4,728. The median was 18,116 and the figure for Arkansas was 3.03 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest398,104Pulaski County
Lowest4,728Calhoun County
Median18,11675 counties
Arkansas3,027,127History

Top 40 counties, 2021

CSVChart (SVG)

Pulaski CountyPulaski County: 398,104 persons398,104Benton CountyBenton County: 294,169 persons294,169Washington CountyWashington County: 251,689 persons251,689Sebastian CountySebastian County: 128,221 persons128,221Faulkner CountyFaulkner County: 125,630 persons125,630Saline CountySaline County: 125,391 persons125,391Craighead CountyCraighead County: 111,720 persons111,720Garland CountyGarland County: 100,318 persons100,318White CountyWhite County: 77,072 persons77,072Lonoke CountyLonoke County: 74,754 persons74,754Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 65,599 persons65,599Pope CountyPope County: 63,742 persons63,742Crawford CountyCrawford County: 60,410 persons60,410Crittenden CountyCrittenden County: 47,414 persons47,414Greene CountyGreene County: 46,314 persons46,314Miller CountyMiller County: 42,460 persons42,460Baxter CountyBaxter County: 42,182 persons42,182Mississippi CountyMississippi County: 39,511 persons39,511Union CountyUnion County: 38,312 persons38,312Independence CountyIndependence County: 38,051 persons38,051Boone CountyBoone County: 37,879 persons37,879Hot Spring CountyHot Spring County: 33,079 persons33,079Carroll CountyCarroll County: 28,533 persons28,533Johnson CountyJohnson County: 25,942 persons25,942Cleburne CountyCleburne County: 25,012 persons25,012St. Francis CountySt. Francis County: 22,711 persons22,711Poinsett CountyPoinsett County: 22,658 persons22,658Columbia CountyColumbia County: 22,471 persons22,471Ouachita CountyOuachita County: 22,328 persons22,328Clark CountyClark County: 21,246 persons21,246Logan CountyLogan County: 21,226 persons21,226Conway CountyConway County: 20,909 persons20,909Yell CountyYell County: 20,130 persons20,130Hempstead CountyHempstead County: 19,662 persons19,662Polk CountyPolk County: 19,322 persons19,322Randolph CountyRandolph County: 18,790 persons18,790Ashley CountyAshley County: 18,642 persons18,642Grant CountyGrant County: 18,116 persons18,116Sharp CountySharp County: 17,686 persons17,686Franklin CountyFranklin County: 17,142 persons17,142
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021
persons
Change on 2020
1Pulaski County398,104-0.3%
2Benton County294,169+2.6%
3Washington County251,689+2%
4Sebastian County128,221+0.3%
5Faulkner County125,630+1.5%
6Saline County125,391+1.3%
7Craighead County111,720+0.1%
8Garland County100,318+0.1%
9White County77,072+0.3%
10Lonoke County74,754+0.9%
11Jefferson County65,599-1.8%
12Pope County63,742+0.5%
13Crawford County60,410+0.4%
14Crittenden County47,414-1.4%
15Greene County46,314+1%
16Miller County42,460-0.3%
17Baxter County42,182+1.2%
18Mississippi County39,511-2.5%
19Union County38,312-1.6%
20Independence County38,051+0.3%
21Boone County37,879+1.3%
22Hot Spring County33,079-0%
23Carroll County28,533+1%
24Johnson County25,942+0.9%
25Cleburne County25,012+1.2%
26St. Francis County22,711-1.3%
27Poinsett County22,658-1.3%
28Columbia County22,471-1.2%
29Ouachita County22,328-1.3%
30Clark County21,246-0.7%
31Logan County21,226+0.6%
32Conway County20,909+0.8%
33Yell County20,130-0.4%
34Hempstead County19,662-1.7%
35Polk County19,322+0.7%
36Randolph County18,790+1.1%
37Ashley County18,642-1.7%
38Grant County18,116+0.6%
39Sharp County17,686+2.2%
40Franklin County17,142+0.1%
41Drew County17,067-1.5%
42Marion County16,965+0.6%
43Madison County16,961+2.5%
44Jackson County16,762+0.1%
45Arkansas County16,670-2.5%
46Cross County16,661-0.8%
47Lawrence County16,289+0.4%
48Van Buren County15,777-0.2%
49Phillips County15,758-3.8%
50Sevier County15,704-0.5%
51Clay County14,344-1.3%
52Izard County13,920+2.3%
53Lincoln County13,184+2.3%
54Howard County12,691-0.5%
55Stone County12,445+0.8%
56Fulton County12,139+0.7%
57Little River County11,936-0.4%
58Desha County11,047-2.4%
59Bradley County10,338-1.6%
60Pike County10,106-0.5%
61Chicot County10,038-1.1%
62Perry County9,985-0.1%
63Scott County9,792-0.4%
64Lee County8,620+0.4%
65Montgomery County8,619+1.6%
66Nevada County8,181-1.2%
67Prairie County8,079-2%
68Searcy County7,903+0.7%
69Cleveland County7,487-0.8%
70Newton County7,164-0.4%
71Monroe County6,639-1.9%
72Dallas County6,305-2.1%
73Lafayette County6,152-2.3%
74Woodruff County6,124-1.6%
75Calhoun County4,728-0.2%

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population. Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (PadrĂ³n). United States: Census Bureau population estimates for 1 July. Other countries and the World: World Bank mid-year estimates, which count all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.

For Denmark, Statistics Denmark counts the registered resident population on 1 January. Greenland and the Faroe Islands are excluded. The annual series selects the first-quarter reference date from FOLK1A. The World Bank series exists for every country, so use it (through compare) to rank countries on one basis.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for the United States, states and counties, 1 July (Population Estimates Program). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Questions

Which county has the highest population?

Pulaski County, with 398,104 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

Calhoun County, with 4,728 in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual estimates of the resident population for the United States, states and counties, 1 July (Population Estimates Program). Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Population: other rankings

Counties in Arkansas: more rankings