17,984 people (2024 Census estimate, −5.2% since 2020)
925 square miles of land · 19 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
9 active community water systems list Ashley County in the area they serve, reporting 20,324 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| CROSSETT WATER COMMISSION groundwater · local government · AR0000017 | 7,900 served |
| HAMBURG WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · AR0000015 | 5,600 served |
| NORTH CROSSETT UTILITIES groundwater · private · AR0000022 | 3,222 served |
| FOUNTAIN HILL WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · AR0000016 | 1,028 served |
| WEST ASHLEY COUNTY WATER ASSN buys groundwater · private · AR0000878 | 683 served |
| PORTLAND WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · AR0000018 | 625 served |
| MONTROSE BOYDELL WATER SYSTEM groundwater · local government · AR0000014 | 473 served |
| WILMOT WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · AR0000021 | 416 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 45 people were held in Ashley County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2019), or 384 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2014 it was about 89.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
2 school districts have their office in Ashley County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $21.5 million — $19.5 million to run schools, about $11,526 per student, plus $1.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.4 million local (mostly property tax), $15.5 million state, $4.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $19.2 million.
Spent $25.1 million — $18.9 million to run schools, about $11,417 per student, plus $4.9 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.4 million local (mostly property tax), $14.8 million state, $7.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $32.2 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Ashley County about $11.7 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very Low; social vulnerability: Very High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
105 bridges in Ashley County: 66 in good condition, 38 fair, and 1 poor (1.0%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| SH 169-00 LM 5.86 over Creek · built 1980 | 1,200 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $6.9 million of work in Ashley County in fiscal 2025, about $364 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
General election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Last day to register to vote: 2026-10-05. Early voting: 2026-10-19 to 2026-11-02. Absentee application due (by mail, email, or fax): 2026-10-27. Absentee ballot hand-delivered by you: last day: 2026-10-30. Election Day — and mailed absentee ballots must arrive: 2026-11-03. Provisional ballot: show your ID by noon: 2026-11-09. General runoff (only where a race needs one): 2026-12-01.
Source: Arkansas Secretary of State, 2026 election calendar · Fayetteville Flyer, Oct. 5, 2026 · sos.arkansas.gov — voting in Arkansas
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Ashley County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Ashley County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Arkansas: the state government and every county in Arkansas.
Nearby counties: Morehouse Parish, LA (26 mi) · Drew County (28 mi) · Chicot County (28 mi) · Bradley County (30 mi) · West Carroll Parish, LA (33 mi) · Union Parish, LA (43 mi).