Van Buren County, Arkansas


Van Buren County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,295. The county seat is Clinton. The county was formed on November 11, 1833, and named for Martin Van Buren, President of the United States, who was Vice President at the time of the county's formation. It is an alcohol prohibition or dry county.
Van Buren County should not be confused with the city of Van Buren, which is located approximately 100 miles to the west in Crawford County just north of Fort Smith.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.

Major highways

As of the 2000 census, there were 16,192 people, 6,825 households, and 4,804 families residing in the county. The population density was 23 people per square mile. There were 9,164 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 96.79% White, 0.31% Black or African American, 0.75% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 1.48% from two or more races. 1.33% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race, but the percentage could increased 3 or 4 times by seasonal migrant laborers in the county's shiitake mushroom harvest and hospitality jobs provided by the Fairfield Bay resort hotel.
There were 6,825 households out of which 25.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.10% were married couples living together, 7.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.60% were non-families. 26.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.79.
In the county, the population was spread out with 21.50% under the age of 18, 6.60% from 18 to 24, 23.00% from 25 to 44, 25.50% from 45 to 64, and 23.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 96.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $27,004, and the median income for a family was $32,284. Males had a median income of $25,821 versus $18,862 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,603. About 11.60% of families and 15.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.90% of those under age 18 and 10.60% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Over the past few election cycles Van Buren County, like all of the traditionally secessionist and Democratic Upland South, has trended heavily towards the GOP. The last Democrat to carry this county was Bill Clinton in 1996.
YearGOPDemOthers
201673.33% 5,38221.11% 1,5495.56% 408
201267.88% 4,36528.49% 1,8323.62% 233
200863.79% 4,27632.09% 2,1514.12% 276
200454.08% 3,98844.89% 3,3101.03% 76
200049.90% 3,48545.85% 3,2024.25% 297
199634.48% 2,34551.77% 3,52113.74% 935
199235.48% 2,61251.88% 3,81912.63% 930
198857.37% 3,56241.99% 2,6070.64% 40
198460.97% 4,06037.98% 2,5291.05% 70
198049.11% 3,09047.17% 2,9683.72% 234
197628.86% 1,62471.14% 4,004-
197261.91% 2,62237.64% 1,5940.45% 19
196835.83% 1,32531.07% 1,14933.10% 1,224
196437.89% 1,27061.28% 2,0540.84% 28
196044.51% 1,00951.08% 1,1584.41% 100
195649.05% 1,29650.38% 1,3310.57% 15
195249.32% 1,53050.26% 1,5590.42% 13
194829.81% 61763.96% 1,3246.23% 129
194437.49% 65562.39% 1,0900.11% 2
194027.35% 40272.65% 1,0680.00% 0
193627.48% 54172.22% 1,4220.30% 6
193221.85% 41377.04% 1,4561.11% 21
192839.18% 99460.66% 1,5390.16% 4
192430.12% 43563.85% 9226.02% 87
192072.98% 1,38823.13% 4403.89% 74
191636.87% 74363.13% 1,2720.00% 0
191219.94% 25452.90% 67427.16% 346
190842.38% 66750.64% 7976.99% 110
190446.17% 54249.23% 5784.60% 54
190040.90% 44555.06% 5994.04% 44
189630.02% 37467.90% 8462.09% 26

Communities

Cities