Lafayette County, Arkansas Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Lafayette County, AR Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
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D
Health Well below averageAmong the 5 least healthy counties in Arkansas
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D
Income Well below average
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F
Education Well below averageLess educated than 73% of counties in Arkansas
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Lafayette County | Arkansas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 6,108 | 3,049,066 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 11.2 | 57.3 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | -2.11% | 0.32% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 46.4 | 36.8 | 37.3 |
| Households | 2,622 | 1,205,703 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Lafayette County declined by 22.0% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 6,108 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Lafayette County is Gen X, aged 45–60, at 22.6% of residents. That is 3.4 points above Arkansas as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 1,174 19.2% -2.3 pts
- Millennials 29–44 1,025 16.8% -4.1 pts
- Gen X 45–60 1,383 22.6% +3.4 pts
- Boomers 61–79 1,369 22.4% +4.3 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Arkansas, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 49.7% of the people living in Lafayette County and men 50.3%.
- Women 49.7% Arkansas 50.6%
- Men 50.3% Arkansas 49.4%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Lafayette County
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Lafayette County has a the economy index of D, which means it is barely prosperous.
| Metric | Lafayette County | Arkansas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $41,161 | $60,940 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 4.11% | 4.58% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 5.3% | 4.9% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Lafayette County is about 32% lower than in Arkansas.
Housing
| Metric | Lafayette County | Arkansas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $84,421 | $111,957 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $755 | $947 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 79.3% | 66.4% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Lafayette County is about 9.3 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $755 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Lafayette County spend about 57 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 238 hours, about 9.9 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Lafayette County | Arkansas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 28.5 | 18.6 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 57.1 | 37.2 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 238 | 155 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $7,370 | $4,807 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 3.4% | 8.8% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 2,298 | 6,306 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 314 | 912 | 1,355 |
Fastest commutes among counties in
Arkansas:
Arkansas County (11.9 min), Phillips County (13.2 min), Howard County (13.4 min).
Slowest:
Perry County (32.2 min), Newton County (31.6 min), Madison County (31.1 min).
The average commute time in Lafayette County is 29 minutes, longer than the 19 minutes in Arkansas.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
Lafayette County has a education index of F, which means it scores poorly in education.
| Metric | Lafayette County | Arkansas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 10.8% | 22.8% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.31 | 2.46 | 2.53 |
Highest education index among counties in
Arkansas:
Pulaski County (0.3), Benton County (0.3), Washington County (0.3).
Lowest:
Lee County (0.2), Lincoln County (0.2), Scott County (0.2).
Health
Lafayette County has a health index of D, which means it is barely healthy.
| Metric | Lafayette County | Arkansas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 73.5 | 75.5 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 27.6% | 22.8% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 25.1% | 23.3% | 19.0% |
Highest health index among counties in
Arkansas:
Benton County (0.8), Washington County (0.8), Newton County (0.8).
Lowest:
Phillips County (0.7), Chicot County (0.7), Desha County (0.8).
Lafayette County, AR Compared With Nearby Counties
Lafayette County, AR is the smallest of the 4 counties compared here, 6,108 residents against a local median of 42,360. The measure that sets Lafayette County, AR apart most is commute: 28.5 min, 68% above the local median of 17.0 min. That is the weaker end of the local range on this measure.
Median home price tells the same story from another angle: $84,421 against a local median of $63,871, 32% above it. Every measure here with a clear better direction points the same way, and it is the wrong way: Lafayette County, AR reads weaker than its neighbours on all of them. The counties themselves sit within 4.1 min of each other on commute, a tighter band than the gap between any of them and Lafayette County, AR, which makes it a genuine outlier here rather than one end of a wide local spread. Lafayette County, AR has the 4th lowest commute of the 4 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lafayette County, AR | 6,108 | $41,161 #4/4 | $84,421 #2/4 | 28.5 min #4/4 |
| Miller County, AR | 42,360 | $48,586 | $93,055 | 17.0 min |
| Columbia County, AR | 22,349 | $52,232 | $27,499 | 16.4 min |
| Bossier Parish, LA | 129,734 | $69,637 | $63,871 | 20.5 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Lafayette County, Arkansas.
How many people live in Lafayette County, Arkansas?
About 6,108 people live in Lafayette County, Arkansas, in 2,622 households of 2.3 people on average. The median age is 46.4, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 9 years.
Is Lafayette County, Arkansas mostly urban or rural?
Averaged over its land area, Lafayette County, Arkansas has 11 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is about 13% of the U.S. average of 86.
Is Lafayette County, Arkansas an affordable place to live?
The median home costs 2.1 times the median household income ($84,421 against $41,161), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $755 a month takes about 22% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
How common is a college degree in Lafayette County, Arkansas?
10.8% of adults in Lafayette County, Arkansas hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 9), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.
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