akashic
1876–2024
Independence County, Arkansas
Independence County·Arkansas

Independence County changed its political identity.

One of Arkansas's most lopsided presidential counties in 2024

18762024·38 elections
Independence County, Arkansas · Valis55 · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
R+59
in 2024
Archetype
Realigner
since the recent cycles
Population
38,175
2024 ACS
Most similar
Stone County
AR · similarity 1.00
34 precincts · 14,011 votes cast
Trump · R+59
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024R
−59.5%
2,68911,02314,011
2020R
−58.2%
2,80611,25014,512
2016R
−53.6%
2,8819,93613,169
2012R
−43.9%
3,2818,72812,397
2008R
−37.1%
3,6888,25512,299
2004R
−15.3%
5,4437,43013,011
2000R
−8.6%
5,1466,14511,594
1996D
+19.1%
6,2404,02111,628
1992D
+22.2%
7,0834,23212,840
1988R
−18.9%
4,5236,63711,208
1984R
−25.3%
4,4157,42811,911
1980D
+5.5%
5,6835,07611,125
1976D
+42.4%
7,1162,8789,998
1972R
−31.7%
2,6305,0767,721
1968R
−6.3%
2,2892,7827,841
1964D
+28.5%
4,4552,4706,960
1960R
−2.9%
2,4872,6395,289
1956R
−0.4%
2,3162,3334,683
1952R
−0.3%
2,4852,4995,003
1948D
+41.9%
2,3408553,541
1944D
+19.7%
1,7791,1922,980
1940D
+41.9%
2,2769283,220
1936D
+50.7%
2,1016852,792
1932D
+73.1%
2,4273712,811
1928D
+13.5%
1,5111,1502,668
1924D
+38.1%
1,3135342,042
1920D
+17.3%
1,5461,0772,710
1916D
+44.6%
1,9877622,749
1912D
+37.0%
1,2254122,200
1908D
+21.9%
1,5299482,654
1904D
+17.1%
1,0527361,847
1900D
+31.1%
1,5267822,390
1896D
+56.9%
2,0895672,676
1892D
+30.7%
1,7928683,005
1888
No data
1884
No data
1880
No data
1876
No data
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
100.0%
African American
1.4%
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. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
0.0%
speak English only
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Baptist
32.3%
Other Christian
26.6%
Methodist
6.2%
Pentecostal & Holiness
4.3%
Catholic & Orthodox
2.0%
Mainline Protestant
1.6%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 27.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Independence County, anchored by Batesville in the Ozark foothills, recorded an R+59.5 presidential margin in 2024, placing it among the most one-sided rural counties in a state that has trended sharply toward Republican dominance over the past two decades.

The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin in Independence County peaked at seventy-three points in 1932; it narrowed steadily over the late twentieth century. The 2000 election delivered the county to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by a margin of nine points. By 2024, the margin had widened further.

The economic and demographic context is severe. Independence County's median household income of $56,609 is among the lowest of any county in the United States; 20% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Stone County and Miller County.