Madison County, Arkansas

Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,521. The county seat is Huntsville. The county was formed on September 30, 1836, and named for Madison County, Alabama, the home of some early settlers. They also named the county seat after Madison County in Alabama's county seat, Huntsville. Madison County is part of the Northwest Arkansas region.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 837 square miles (2,170 km²), of which 834 square miles (2,160 km²) is land and 2.8 square miles (7.3 km²) (0.3%) is water.

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 16,521. The median age was 42.8 years. 22.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 99.1 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 86.4% White, 0.2% Black or African American, 1.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% Asian, 1.5% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.9% from some other race, and 7.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 5.4% of the population.

<0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 6,437 households in the county, of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 53.4% were married-couple households, 18.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 21.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 7,611 housing units, of which 15.4% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 78.1% were owner-occupied and 21.9% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.5%.

As of the 2000 census, there were 14,243 people, 5,463 households, and 4,080 families residing in the county. The population density was 7/km² (18/mi²). There were 6,537 housing units at an average density of 3/km² (7.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.94% White, 0.11% Black or African American, 1.22% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 1.47% from other races, and 1.10% from two or more races. 3.06% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.