38,345 people (2024 Census estimate, +1.1% since 2020)
764 square miles of land · 50 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 Independence County in the area they serve, reporting 46,378 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| BATESVILLE WATER UTILITIES surface water · local government · AR0000250 | 15,621 served |
| SOUTHSIDE PUB WATER AUTHORITY surface water · local government · AR0000254 | 9,108 served |
| ROCK MOORE WATER AUTHORITY groundwater · local government · AR0000252 | 3,462 served |
| PFEIFFER WATER AUTHORITY buys surface water · local government · AR0000251 | 3,343 served |
| CAVE CITY WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · AR0000526 | 3,045 served |
| GRANGE-CALAMINE WATER ASSOC groundwater · local government · AR0000759 | 3,015 served |
| INDEPENDENCE JACKSON REGIONAL groundwater · local government · AR0000774 | 2,922 served |
| DOTA PUBLIC WATER AUTHORITY groundwater (surface-influenced) · local government · AR0000698 | 2,722 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 33 people were held in Independence County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2021), or 139 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2016 it was about 117.
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.
4 school districts have their office in Independence County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $42.7 million — $34.7 million to run schools, about $10,000 per student, plus $3.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $7.5 million local (mostly property tax), $30.4 million state, $6.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $41.3 million.
Spent $24.8 million — $22.4 million to run schools, about $10,049 per student, plus $711,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.9 million local (mostly property tax), $18.3 million state, $4.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $27.5 million.
Spent $11.8 million — $11 million to run schools, about $17,231 per student, plus $470,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.5 million local (mostly property tax), $7.1 million state, $2.3 million federal. Long-term debt: $6.3 million.
Spent $8.2 million — $7.9 million to run schools, about $15,370 per student, plus $82,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $872,000 local (mostly property tax), $4.9 million state, $2 million federal. Long-term debt: $6.1 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 Independence County about $24.3 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Low; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
182 bridges in Independence County: 67 in good condition, 101 fair, and 14 poor (7.7%). “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 25/Independ. Co over BLUE CREEK · built 1955 | 5,500 vehicles a day |
| SH 14/Indepen. Co. over SALADO CREEK · built 1961 | 1,900 vehicles a day |
| SH 233/Indepen Co. over TWO MILE CREEK · built 1956 | 820 vehicles a day |
| Independence CR 53 over BAILEY CREEK · built 1940 | 310 vehicles a day |
| CR 18/Indepen Co. over SHOAT BRANCH · built 1990 | 282 vehicles a day |
| Cr36 / Indepen. Co over MILL CREEK · built 1954 | 258 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $8.3 million of work in Independence County in fiscal 2025, about $218 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 Independence 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 Independence County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Arkansas: the state government and every county in Arkansas.
Nearby counties: Jackson County (21 mi) · Cleburne County (27 mi) · Sharp County (30 mi) · Izard County (32 mi) · Lawrence County (33 mi) · Stone County (34 mi).