Monroe County, Arkansas

Monroe County is a located in the  of. As of, the population is 10,254. The is, while its largest city is. Monroe County is Arkansas's 20th county, formed on, from portions of  and  counties, and named for , the fifth.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,609 (621 ). 1,571 km² (607 sq mi) of it is land and 38 km² (15 sq mi) of it (2.38%) is water.

Adjacent counties

 * (north)
 * (northeast)
 * (east)
 * (southeast)
 * (southwest)
 * (west)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 10,254 people, 4,105 households, and 2,733 families residing in the county. The was 7/km² (17/sq mi). There were 5,067 housing units at an average density of 3/km² (8/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 59.37%, 38.79% or , 0.26% , 0.13% , 0.04% , 0.26% from , and 1.14% from two or more races. 1.29% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 4,105 households out of which 29.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.10% were living together, 16.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.40% were non-families. 30.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the county the population was spread out with 27.90% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 23.70% from 25 to 44, 23.40% from 45 to 64, and 17.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 88.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $22,632, and the median income for a family was $28,915. Males had a median income of $25,299 versus $17,117 for females. The for the county was $13,096. About 21.00% of families and 27.50% of the population were below the, including 37.40% of those under age 18 and 22.40% of those age 65 or over.

History
It was at a site near the intersection of Monroe,, and counties that surveys began shortly after the United States had completed the. From wetlands in what would become southern Monroe County, approximately 900,000 square miles of land would be explored after President commissioned a survey of the purchase area. The point was commemorated in 1961 by the Arkansas General Assembly as part of Louisiana Purchase State Park.