Garland County, Arkansas: Stable Rural Right county. In 2024, voted R+36%. Democratic peak: D+67 in 1932.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+36MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Stable Rural RightAkashic typology
- Population
- 100,0352024 5-year
- Median household income
- $57,1812024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 82.7%2024 5-year
- Black
- 7.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 7.5%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+67 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+49 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Columbia County, AR · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Garland CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Garland County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
—
Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1876 | No data |
| 1880 | No data |
| 1884 | No data |
| 1888 | No data |
| 1892 | +20.4% |
| 1896 | +34.0% |
| 1900 | +14.0% |
| 1904 | −3.0% |
| 1908 | +9.1% |
| 1912 | +36.8% |
| 1916 | +22.7% |
| 1920 | +21.2% |
| 1924 | +15.4% |
| 1928 | +1.9% |
| 1932 | +67.2% |
| 1936 | +41.0% |
| 1940 | +40.0% |
| 1944 | +26.9% |
| 1948 | +20.7% |
| 1952 | −20.5% |
| 1956 | −26.5% |
| 1960 | −6.2% |
| 1964 | +7.6% |
| 1968 | −10.0% |
| 1972 | −49.2% |
| 1976 | +20.3% |
| 1980 | −10.8% |
| 1984 | −28.7% |
| 1988 | −24.9% |
| 1992 | +16.5% |
| 1996 | +15.3% |
| 2000 | −9.1% |
| 2004 | −9.2% |
| 2008 | −25.0% |
| 2012 | −30.0% |
| 2016 | −35.0% |
| 2020 | −34.0% |
| 2024 | −36.3% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 13,015 | 28,359 | 42,327 | ||
| R | 14,045 | 29,069 | 44,199 | ||
| R | 12,311 | 26,087 | 39,387 | ||
| R | 13,804 | 26,014 | 40,728 | ||
| R | 15,899 | 26,825 | 43,719 | ||
| R | 18,040 | 21,734 | 40,154 | ||
| R | 15,840 | 19,098 | 35,935 | ||
| D | 19,211 | 13,662 | 36,206 | ||
| D | 18,811 | 12,886 | 35,995 | ||
| R | 11,406 | 19,281 | 31,642 | ||
| R | 11,484 | 21,213 | 33,958 | ||
| R | 12,515 | 15,739 | 29,717 | ||
| D | 15,707 | 10,394 | 26,170 | ||
| R | 5,207 | 15,602 | 21,112 | ||
| R | 5,655 | 7,674 | 20,284 | ||
| D | 11,591 | 9,952 | 21,629 | ||
| R | 6,333 | 7,204 | 13,944 | ||
| R | 5,437 | 9,427 | 15,076 | ||
| R | 5,165 | 7,848 | 13,065 | ||
| D | 3,764 | 2,286 | 7,154 | ||
| D | 3,596 | 2,069 | 5,669 | ||
| D | 3,335 | 1,424 | 4,772 | ||
| D | 2,931 | 1,217 | 4,183 | ||
| D | 4,252 | 833 | 5,086 | ||
| D | 2,823 | 2,720 | 5,558 | ||
| D | 1,501 | 1,064 | 2,837 | ||
| D | 1,670 | 1,055 | 2,901 | ||
| D | 1,678 | 1,057 | 2,735 | ||
| D | 1,046 | 300 | 2,027 | ||
| D | 1,340 | 1,105 | 2,575 | ||
| R | 804 | 854 | 1,677 | ||
| D | 940 | 708 | 1,661 | ||
| D | 1,465 | 703 | 2,244 | ||
| D | 1,456 | 940 | 2,534 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
13.7%
Irish
12.5%
German
11.2%
American
6.2%
Italian
2.2%
Scottish
2.0%
French
1.5%
African American
6.1%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 45.5 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$57,181
Garland County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Garland County$57,181
Arkansas$60,773
United States$80,734
Garland County ranks near the middle of US counties by median household income.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
15.8%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1821.8%
Working age (18–64)14.9%
Seniors (65+)10.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.0%
speak English only
Spanish5.0%
Other Indo-European1.3%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.7%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 48.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Garland County's resort-city core around Hot Springs gives it more tourism-driven economic diversity than many Arkansas counties, yet it has posted Republican presidential margins above 30 points in recent cycles, reflecting the broader rightward tilt of non-metropolitan Arkansas.
The Republican margin here reached forty-nine points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved two points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was thirty-six points.
A population of 100,035, a 83% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $57,181 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Columbia County and Independence County.
Most similar counties
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Garland County, Arkansas. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/05051/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
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Frequently asked questions
How did Garland County, Arkansas vote in 2024?
In 2024, Garland County, Arkansas voted Republican by 36.3 points (R+36), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 42,327 votes cast, 13,015 went Democratic and 28,359 went Republican.
What is Garland County, Arkansas's political typology?
Akashic places Garland County, Arkansas in the "Stable Rural Right" typology — Mountain, Plains, and rural Republican counties already near their ceiling, with little further room to swing. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 18 times, Republican 16 times, and other 0 times.
When did Garland County, Arkansas last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Garland County, Arkansas voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Garland County, Arkansas?
Garland County, Arkansas has a population of 100,035 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Garland County, Arkansas?
Median household income in Garland County, Arkansas is $57,181 — below the national median of $80,734. The Arkansas state median is $60,773.
What is the political history of Garland County, Arkansas?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Garland County, Arkansas from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 18 went Democratic and 16 went Republican. The county's typology — "Stable Rural Right" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.