115,852 people (2024 Census estimate, +3.8% since 2020)
707 square miles of land · 164 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.
12 active community water systems list Craighead County in the area they serve, reporting 115,523 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| JONESBORO WATER SYSTEM groundwater · local government · AR0000124 | 81,888 served |
| CROSS COUNTY RURAL WATER SYS groundwater · local government · AR0000459 | 8,750 served |
| LAWRENCE CO REG WATER DIST buys surface water · local government · AR0000688 | 7,469 served |
| BROOKLAND WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · AR0000131 | 4,283 served |
| BUFFALO ISLAND REG WATER DIST buys surface water · local government · AR0000671 | 3,055 served |
| BONO WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · AR0000126 | 2,550 served |
| LAKE CITY WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · AR0000122 | 2,186 served |
| BAY WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · AR0000129 | 1,938 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 293 people were held in Craighead County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2021), or 403 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2016 it was about 314.
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.
8 school districts have their office in Craighead County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $110.4 million — $84.6 million to run schools, about $12,604 per student, plus $23.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $9.2 million local (mostly property tax), $64.1 million state, $23.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $59.6 million.
Spent $52 million — $46.3 million to run schools, about $12,746 per student, plus $3.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $8.8 million local (mostly property tax), $35.6 million state, $11.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $35.5 million.
Spent $41.9 million — $30.8 million to run schools, about $10,055 per student, plus $9.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5.8 million local (mostly property tax), $26.8 million state, $5 million federal. Long-term debt: $30.6 million.
Spent $38.8 million — $31.1 million to run schools, about $10,395 per student, plus $6.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $6.1 million local (mostly property tax), $27.1 million state, $3 million federal. Long-term debt: $47.8 million.
Spent $21.5 million — $19.7 million to run schools, about $10,801 per student, plus $1.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.8 million local (mostly property tax), $15.4 million state, $4.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $12.6 million.
Spent $9.1 million — $8.7 million to run schools, about $11,289 per student, plus $195,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.2 million local (mostly property tax), $6.7 million state, $1.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $7 million.
Spent $9.8 million — $9.2 million to run schools, about $12,594 per student, plus $336,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.7 million local (mostly property tax), $6.6 million state, $1.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $12.7 million.
Spent $7.8 million — $6.6 million to run schools, about $11,724 per student, plus $1.1 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $878,000 local (mostly property tax), $5.5 million state, $1.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $4.9 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 Moderate compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Craighead County about $89.6 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Moderate; social vulnerability: Relatively High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
443 bridges in Craighead County: 296 in good condition, 138 fair, and 9 poor (2.0%). “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 463 RT SIDE PVT over RT HWY RD DITCH · built 1965 | 4,200 vehicles a day |
| SH 158-05- LM 2.35 over LITTLE BAY DITCH · built 1980 | 1,100 vehicles a day |
| CR 948 - A over DITCH · built 1977 | 650 vehicles a day |
| CR948 - LM 3.22 over BIG LAKE · built 1977 | 650 vehicles a day |
| SH 18-03- LM 11.08 over DITCH · built 1960 | 560 vehicles a day |
| SH 91-02- LM 2.22 over CACHE RIVER · built 1959 | 410 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $58.4 million of work in Craighead County in fiscal 2025, about $525 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 Craighead 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 Craighead County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Arkansas: the state government and every county in Arkansas.
Nearby counties: Poinsett County (18 mi) · Greene County (21 mi) · Lawrence County (30 mi) · Mississippi County (33 mi) · Jackson County (37 mi) · Cross County (38 mi).