Howard County, Arkansas: Sunbelt Conservative county. In 2024, voted R+47%. Democratic peak: D+82 in 1932.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+47MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Sunbelt ConservativeAkashic typology
- Population
- 12,5832024 5-year
- Median household income
- $45,6032024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 65.1%2024 5-year
- Black
- 20.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 12.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+82 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+47 in 2024MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Prairie County, AR · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Howard CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Howard County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
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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 | +42.1% |
| 1896 | +65.0% |
| 1900 | +24.8% |
| 1904 | +11.2% |
| 1908 | +20.6% |
| 1912 | +32.9% |
| 1916 | +41.5% |
| 1920 | +9.1% |
| 1924 | +42.1% |
| 1928 | +16.0% |
| 1932 | +82.2% |
| 1936 | +67.7% |
| 1940 | +56.8% |
| 1944 | +45.4% |
| 1948 | +63.6% |
| 1952 | +22.4% |
| 1956 | +3.6% |
| 1960 | +5.2% |
| 1964 | −10.7% |
| 1968 | −5.6% |
| 1972 | −43.0% |
| 1976 | +34.1% |
| 1980 | +3.5% |
| 1984 | −27.6% |
| 1988 | −16.0% |
| 1992 | +20.8% |
| 1996 | +27.3% |
| 2000 | −5.9% |
| 2004 | −11.5% |
| 2008 | −25.0% |
| 2012 | −31.8% |
| 2016 | −39.5% |
| 2020 | −41.9% |
| 2024 | −46.7% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 1,158 | 3,246 | 4,473 | ||
| R | 1,340 | 3,367 | 4,834 | ||
| R | 1,351 | 3,157 | 4,568 | ||
| R | 1,471 | 2,892 | 4,462 | ||
| R | 1,746 | 2,957 | 4,846 | ||
| R | 2,166 | 2,736 | 4,943 | ||
| R | 2,063 | 2,326 | 4,459 | ||
| D | 2,741 | 1,478 | 4,632 | ||
| D | 2,764 | 1,728 | 4,975 | ||
| R | 1,818 | 2,510 | 4,337 | ||
| R | 1,746 | 3,079 | 4,832 | ||
| D | 2,564 | 2,386 | 5,064 | ||
| D | 3,207 | 1,575 | 4,782 | ||
| R | 1,069 | 2,682 | 3,751 | ||
| O | 1,061 | 1,286 | 4,007 | ||
| R | 1,320 | 1,649 | 3,063 | ||
| D | 1,366 | 1,225 | 2,735 | ||
| D | 1,428 | 1,329 | 2,785 | ||
| D | 1,492 | 944 | 2,443 | ||
| D | 1,250 | 199 | 1,652 | ||
| D | 1,538 | 576 | 2,118 | ||
| D | 1,540 | 419 | 1,973 | ||
| D | 1,437 | 275 | 1,717 | ||
| D | 1,703 | 165 | 1,871 | ||
| D | 1,055 | 763 | 1,827 | ||
| D | 954 | 338 | 1,462 | ||
| D | 1,452 | 1,208 | 2,688 | ||
| D | 1,317 | 545 | 1,862 | ||
| D | 760 | 321 | 1,334 | ||
| D | 967 | 610 | 1,731 | ||
| D | 644 | 500 | 1,281 | ||
| D | 986 | 585 | 1,615 | ||
| D | 1,392 | 294 | 1,689 | ||
| D | 1,072 | 354 | 1,704 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
9.2%
American
9.1%
German
6.7%
Irish
6.7%
Scottish
1.4%
French
1.2%
Polish
0.6%
African American
16.6%
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: 38.8 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
$45,603
Howard County ranks in the bottom 10% of US counties.
Howard County$45,603
Arkansas$60,773
United States$80,734
Howard County ranks in the bottom 10% 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
22.5%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1825.3%
Working age (18–64)22.6%
Seniors (65+)12.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
87.3%
speak English only
Spanish9.9%
Other Indo-European2.3%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 39.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Howard County's small, majority-rural population has shifted steadily toward overwhelming Republican margins over the past two decades, reflecting broader realignment patterns across southwest Arkansas's timber and agricultural communities.
The Republican margin here reached forty-seven points in 2024. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved five points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was forty-seven points.
A median household income of $45,603, a 65% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 12,583 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Prairie County and Yell 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.
Howard County, Arkansas. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/05061/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More sunbelt conservative counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Howard County, Arkansas vote in 2024?
In 2024, Howard County, Arkansas voted Republican by 46.7 points (R+47), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 4,473 votes cast, 1,158 went Democratic and 3,246 went Republican.
What is Howard County, Arkansas's political typology?
Akashic places Howard County, Arkansas in the "Sunbelt Conservative" typology — Affluent, predominantly white Sunbelt counties — reliably Republican. 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 22 times, Republican 11 times, and other 1 times.
When did Howard County, Arkansas last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Howard County, Arkansas voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Howard County, Arkansas?
Howard County, Arkansas has a population of 12,583 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Howard County, Arkansas?
Median household income in Howard County, Arkansas is $45,603 — below the national median of $80,734. The Arkansas state median is $60,773.
What is the political history of Howard County, Arkansas?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Howard County, Arkansas from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 22 went Democratic and 11 went Republican. The county's typology — "Sunbelt Conservative" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.