19,105 people (2024 Census estimate, −4.4% since 2020)
727 square miles of land · 26 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.
10 active community water systems list Hempstead County in the area they serve, reporting 18,091 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| HOPE WATER LIGHT COMM surface water · local government · AR0000230 | 11,500 served |
| SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS WATER SYSTEM buys surface water · private · AR0000889 | 2,335 served |
| BODCAW RURAL WATER SYSTEM buys surface water · private · AR0000887 | 1,430 served |
| OZAN CREEK WATER SYSTEM buys surface water · private · AR0001078 | 787 served |
| EMMET WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · AR0000393 | 550 served |
| OZAN WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · AR0000227 | 425 served |
| BLEVINS WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · AR0000233 | 383 served |
| FULTON WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · AR0000231 | 379 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 67 people were held in Hempstead County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2021), or 567 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2016 it was about 57.
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.
3 school districts have their office in Hempstead County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $35.1 million — $32.2 million to run schools, about $14,216 per student, plus $1.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $4.7 million local (mostly property tax), $21.7 million state, $10.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $20.7 million.
Spent $6.7 million — $6.5 million to run schools, about $10,449 per student, plus $76,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $678,000 local (mostly property tax), $5.4 million state, $863,000 federal. Long-term debt: $3 million.
Spent $6.8 million — $6.4 million to run schools, about $14,202 per student, plus $336,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $611,000 local (mostly property tax), $4.4 million state, $2.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $2.1 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 Hempstead 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.
173 bridges in Hempstead County: 64 in good condition, 103 fair, and 6 poor (3.5%). “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 32 - 06 - 2.92 over CANEY CREEK · built 1974 | 3,800 vehicles a day |
| SH 32 - 07- 6.82 over BODCAW REL. · built 1963 | 780 vehicles a day |
| SH 195 -05 - 3.96 over COLLINS BAYOU · built 1930 | 390 vehicles a day |
| SH 332 - 06- 3.00 over CARUSE CREEK · built 1959 | 320 vehicles a day |
| C.R. 155 - F-1.61 over BOIS DARC CREEK · built 1991 | 37 vehicles a day |
| BOWEN BR. C.R. 244 over LITTLE MO RIVER · built 1944 | 9 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $17.7 million of work in Hempstead County in fiscal 2025, about $884 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 Hempstead 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 Hempstead County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Arkansas: the state government and every county in Arkansas.
Nearby counties: Nevada County (21 mi) · Pike County (29 mi) · Howard County (30 mi) · Miller County (33 mi) · Little River County (33 mi) · Lafayette County (34 mi).