Ouachita County, Arkansas

Ouachita County is a located in the  of. As of 2000, the population was 28,790. The is. The county was formed on, and named for the.

The county is a stronghold and the home of the Pryor family, which includes two U.S. senators,  (-) and  (elected ). The elder Pryor is also a former Arkansas governor and congressman. In, became the first  presidential nominee in the 20th Century to win a majority in Ouachita County.

Ouachita County has considerable elements of organized labor, which traditionally favors Arkansas and national Democrats.

The county is served by a daily newspaper, the Camden News.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,916 (740 ). 1,897 km² (732 sq mi) of it is land and 19 km² (7 sq mi) of it (0.97%) is water.

Adjacent counties

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Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 28,790 people, 11,613 households, and 8,071 families residing in the county. The was 15/km² (39/sq mi). There were 13,450 housing units at an average density of 7/km² (18/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 59.74%, 38.64% or , 0.25% , 0.24% , 0.03% , 0.26% from , and 0.83% from two or more races. 0.73% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 11,613 households out of which 30.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.00% were living together, 15.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.50% were non-families. 28.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.90% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 25.60% from 25 to 44, 23.60% from 45 to 64, and 16.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 89.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,341, and the median income for a family was $35,736. Males had a median income of $30,976 versus $18,800 for females. The for the county was $15,118. About 16.10% of families and 19.50% of the population were below the, including 26.20% of those under age 18 and 18.60% of those age 65 or over.