Baxter County, Arkansas


Baxter County is a county in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the county's population was 41,513. The county seat is Mountain Home. It is Arkansas's 66th county, formed on March 24, 1873, and named for Elisha Baxter, the tenth governor of Arkansas.
The Mountain Home, AR, Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Baxter County. It is in the northern part of the state, bordering Missouri. It is commonly referred to as the Twin Lakes Area because it is bordered by two of Arkansas' largest lakes, Bull Shoals Lake and Norfork Lake. On its southern border is the White River, Norfork Tailwater and the Buffalo National River.
Mountain Home, a small town whose origins date back to the early nineteenth century, is located in north-central Arkansas on a plateau in the Ozark Mountains. The natural environment of nearby Norfork and Bull Shoals lakes and the surrounding countryside has attracted tourists from around the country for many years. Educational institutions have also played a role in the life of the community.
The Baxter Bulletin weekly newspaper was named in 1973 by the Newspaper Enterprise Association as the "Best Overall Weekly Newspaper in the United States" in the over 10,000-circulation category. At the time it was published by Harold E. Martin and was the largest weekly paper in Arkansas.

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 38,386 people, 17,052 households, and 11,799 families residing in the county. The population density was 69 people per square mile. There were 19,891 housing units at an average density of 36 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 97.81% White, 0.11% Black or African American, 0.52% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from other races, and 0.97% from two or more races. 1.00% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 17,052 households out of which 22.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.00% were married couples living together, 7.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.80% were non-families. 27.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.65.
In the county, the population was spread out with 19.00% under the age of 18, 5.80% from 18 to 24, 21.10% from 25 to 44, 27.40% from 45 to 64, and 26.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females there were 92.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.10 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $29,106, and the median income for a family was $34,578. Males had a median income of $25,976 versus $18,923 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,859. About 7.90% of families and 11.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.70% of those under age 18 and 8.90% of those age 65 or over.
As of 2010 Baxter County had a population of 41,513. The racial makeup was 95.96% Non-Hispanic whites, 0.16% blacks, 0.56% Native Americans, 0.41% Asians, 0.04% Pacific Islanders, 1.25% Non-Hispanics reporting more than one race and 1.66% Hispanic or Latino.

Government and politics

The county government is a constitutional body granted specific powers by the Constitution of Arkansas and the Arkansas Code. The quorum court is the legislative branch of the county government and controls all spending and revenue collection. Representatives are called justices of the peace and are elected from county districts every even-numbered year. The number of districts in a county vary from nine to fifteen based on population, and district boundaries are drawn by the Baxter County Election Commission. The Baxter County Quorum Court has eleven members. Presiding over quorum court meetings is the county judge, who serves as the chief operating officer of the county. The county judge is elected at-large and does not vote in quorum court business, although capable of vetoing quorum court decisions.
YearGOPDemOthers
201674.28% 14,68221.09% 4,1694.63% 915
201270.78% 13,68826.74% 5,1722.48% 479
200864.32% 12,85232.73% 6,5392.95% 590
200460.05% 11,12838.47% 7,1291.47% 273
200057.09% 9,53839.00% 6,5163.92% 654
199644.35% 6,87743.23% 6,70312.42% 1,925
199235.85% 5,64044.44% 6,99119.72% 3,101
198863.35% 8,61435.36% 4,8081.29% 175
198469.84% 10,87029.09% 4,5281.07% 166
198063.93% 9,68431.62% 4,7894.45% 674
197650.51% 5,88549.49% 5,766-
197270.65% 6,75428.00% 2,6771.35% 129
196849.53% 3,40128.43% 1,95222.04% 1,513
196440.61% 1,98659.29% 2,9000.10% 5
196054.34% 2,10843.67% 1,6941.99% 77
195653.92% 1,72145.46% 1,4510.63% 20
195249.66% 1,38749.70% 1,3880.64% 18
194831.42% 55362.39% 1,0986.20% 109
194441.69% 57258.02% 7960.29% 4
194036.09% 48963.39% 8590.52% 7
193632.47% 37566.93% 7730.61% 7
193215.47% 19482.85% 1,0391.67% 21
192842.71% 50456.36% 6650.93% 11
192427.29% 30158.02% 64014.69% 162
192038.38% 48456.07% 7075.55% 70
191625.81% 31874.19% 9140.00% 0
191214.26% 14253.82% 53631.93% 318
190830.74% 30062.19% 6077.07% 69
190434.40% 23662.10% 4263.50% 24
190028.28% 28771.23% 7230.49% 5
189621.06% 26278.78% 9800.16% 2

Communities

Cities

'''Jordan/Rodney, Ark

Notable residents