Desha County, Arkansas

The Desha County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The administrative headquarters ( County Seat) is Arkansas City.

Geography

The County is located in the extreme southeast of Arkansas and is bordered to the east by the Mississippi River, which forms the border with the state of Mississippi. The Desha County has an area of 2123 square kilometers, of which 141 square kilometers are water surface. It is bordered by the following counties:

History

Desha County was formed on December 12, 1838 from parts of Arkansas County and the Chicot County. It was named after Captain Ben Desha, a soldier in the War of 1812.

Demographic data

According to the census in 2000 living in Desha County 15,341 people in 5,922 households and 4,192 families. The population density was 8 people per square kilometer. The racial the population was made up of 50.50 percent White, 46.33 percent Black or African American, 0.35 percent Native American, 0.30 percent Asian, 0.03 percent of residents from the Pacific Islander and 1.73 percent from other races groups; 0.76 percent were descended from two or more races. Regardless of ethnicity, 3.16 percent of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 5,922 households out of which 34.6 per cent of children or young people under the age of 18 who lived with them. 46.5 percent were married couples living together, 19.9 percent were single mothers, 29.2 percent were non-families. 26.9 percent of all households were single-person households, and 12.7 percent had someone living alone at the age of 65 years or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size is 3.10 people.

28.9 percent of the population were under 18 years old, 9.0 percent between 18 to 24, 25.2 percent between 25 and 44, 22.7 percent between 45 and 64 and 14.2 percent were 65 years or older. The average age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 87.6 males to every 100 females age 18 and over, there were an average of 82.9 males.

The median income for a household was $ 24,121, and the median income for a family $ 30,028. Males have a median income of $ 29,623, women $ 18,913. The per capita income was $ 13,446. 23.6 percent of families and 28.9 percent of the population lived below the poverty line.

Places in Desha County

Citys

Arkansas City
Dumas
McGehee

Mitchellville
Tillar1
Watson

Town

Reed

Unincorporated communities

Backgate
Halley
Kelso
Pea Ridge

Pickens
Rohwer
Snow Lake
Trippe Junction

Masonville
Selma
Yancopin

1 - partially in Drew County

Benzal
Deerfield
Duce
Knowlton
Laconia
Lorays
Masonville
McArthur
Mozart
Omega
Pendleton
Reedville
Stimson
Yancopin
Yukon

Townships

Bowie Township
Clayton Township
Franklin Township
Halley Township
Jefferson Township
Mississippi Township
Randolph Township
Red Fork Township
Richland Township
Silver Lake Township
Walnut Lake Township

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