Hempstead County, Arkansas

Hempstead County is a located in the  of. As of 2000, the population was 23,587. The is. Hempstead County is Arkansas's fourth county, formed on, , alongside and  counties. The county is named for, a delegate to the from the , which included present-day Arkansas at the time. It is an alcohol prohibition or.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,920 (741 ). 1,888 km² (729 sq mi) of it is land and 33 km² (13 sq mi) of it (1.70%) is water. Hempstead County is alternately considered as part of the greater regions of or Southwest Arkansas.

Adjacent counties

 * (north)
 * (east)
 * (south)
 * (southwest)
 * (west)
 * (northwest)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 23,587 people, 8,959 households, and 6,378 families residing in the county. The was 12/km² (32/sq mi). There were 10,166 housing units at an average density of 5/km² (14/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 63.28%, 30.36% or , 0.42% , 0.17% , 0.02% , 4.17% from , and 1.59% from two or more races. 8.25% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 8,959 households out of which 33.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.40% were living together, 15.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.80% were non-families. 25.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the county the population was spread out with 27.30% under the age of 18, 9.60% from 18 to 24, 27.20% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 14.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 93.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $28,622, and the median income for a family was $34,082. Males had a median income of $25,830 versus $17,383 for females. The for the county was $14,103. About 16.00% of families and 20.30% of the population were below the, including 29.20% of those under age 18 and 16.70% of those age 65 or over.