Desha County, Arkansas

Desha County is a located in the  of. As of, the population is 15,341. The is. Desha County is Arkansas's 40th county, formed on, and named for Captain  who fought in the. Local pronunciation of the name is "deh-SHAY".

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 2,123 (820 ). 1,981 km² (765 sq mi) of it is land and 141 km² (55 sq mi) of it (6.65%) is water. Desha County is alternately considered as part of the larger regions of and Southeast Arkansas.

Adjacent counties

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

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 15,341 people, 5,922 households, and 4,192 families residing in the county. The was 8/km² (20/sq mi). There were 6,663 housing units at an average density of 3/km² (9/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 50.50%, 46.33% or , 0.35% , 0.30% , 0.03% , 1.73% from , and 0.76% from two or more races. 3.16% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 5,922 households out of which 34.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.50% were living together, 19.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.20% were non-families. 26.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the county the population was spread out with 28.90% under the age of 18, 9.00% from 18 to 24, 25.20% from 25 to 44, 22.70% from 45 to 64, and 14.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 87.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $24,121, and the median income for a family was $30,028. Males had a median income of $29,623 versus $18,913 for females. The for the county was $13,446. About 23.60% of families and 28.90% of the population were below the, including 39.60% of those under age 18 and 24.00% of those age 65 or over.