St. Francis County is a county in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,090. The county seat is Forrest City.

St. Francis County comprises the Forrest City, Arkansas Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Memphis-Forrest City, TN-MS-AR Combined Statistical Area.

St. Francis County was formed by the Arkansas territorial legislature on October 13, 1827. Madison served as the county seat until Forrest City, formed in 1869 and named after Nathan Bedford Forrest, replaced it in 1874.

The percentage of tenant farmers in the county rose from 43.2% in 1880 to 70.7% in 1900.

It is on the eastern border of the state in the Arkansas Delta, formed by the lowlands of the Mississippi River. It was an area of large cotton plantations in the antebellum era, when the workers were enslaved African Americans. It continued as an agricultural area into the late 19th century, when many freedmen became sharecroppers.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 643 square miles (1,670 km), of which 635 square miles (1,640 km) is land and 7.7 square miles (20 km) (1.2%) is water.

• Interstate 40
• U.S. Highway 70
• Highway 1
• Highway 38
• Highway 50
• Highway 75

• Cross County (north)
• Crittenden County (east)
• Lee County (south)
• Monroe County (southwest)
• Woodruff County (northwest)

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1830	1,505		—
1840	2,499		66.0%
1850	4,479		79.2%
1860	8,672		93.6%
1870	6,714		−22.6%
1880	8,389		24.9%
1890	13,543		61.4%
1900	17,157		26.7%
1910	22,548		31.4%
1920	28,385		25.9%
1930	33,394		17.6%
1940	36,043		7.9%
1950	36,841		2.2%
1960	33,303		−9.6%
1970	30,799		−7.5%
1980	30,858		0.2%
1990	28,497		−7.7%
2000	29,329		2.9%
2010	28,258		−3.7%
2020	23,090		−18.3%
2023 (est.)	22,101		−4.3%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010

St. Francis County Racial Composition

Race	Num.	Perc.
White	9,206	39.87%
Black or African American	12,501	54.14%
Native American	65	0.28%
Asian	122	0.53%
Pacific Islander	1	0.01%
Other/Mixed	510	2.21%
Hispanic or Latino	686	2.97%

As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 23,090 people, 9,388 households, and 5,867 families residing in the county.

As of the 2010 census, there were 28,258 people living in the county. 51.9% were Black or African American, 44.2% White, 0.5% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 1.4% of some other race and 1.5% of two or more races. 4.1% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).

As of the 2000 census, there were 29,329 people, 10,043 households, and 7,230 families living in the county. The population density was 18/km (47/sq mi). There were 11,242 housing units at an average density of 7/km (18/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 48.36% White, 49.01% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.56% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.40% from other races, and 1.40% from two or more races. 4.88% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 10,043 households, out of which 35.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.90% were married couples living together, 20.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.00% were non-families. 25.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.17.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.90% under the age of 18, 9.90% from 18 to 24, 29.10% from 25 to 44, 21.20% from 45 to 64, and 11.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 105.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $26,146, and the median income for a family was $30,324. Males had a median income of $28,389 versus $20,578 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,483. About 23.10% of families and 27.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 38.70% of those under age 18 and 23.10% of those age 65 or over.

The Republican Party and Union Labor Party merged for the 1888 election and nominated a multiracial slate of candidates against the all-white Democratic slate. On September 4, Paul M. Cobbs, a white Democrat, shot at men guarding the precinct ballot box and wounded seven. The Republican-Union Labor ticket won the county elections. The Union Labor Party's gubernatorial and Arkansas's 1st congressional district candidates also won St. Francis County.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons Federal Correctional Complex, Forrest City is in Forrest City.

A portion of St. Francis County is represented in the Arkansas State Senate by Republican Ronald R. Caldwell.

In presidential elections, St. Francis County generally votes Democratic. Following Reconstruction and disenfranchisement of black voters at the turn of the century, the county voted Democratic in every election since 1896, other than 1900 (William McKinley), 1908 (William Howard Taft), and 1968 (George Wallace).

By the late 1960s, white conservatives began to shift into the Republican Party, and St. Francis County was carried by Richard Nixon in 1972 amidst a national landslide. In 1984, Ronald Reagan carried the county in his landslide reelection. The county has voted Democratic in every subsequent presidential election, albeit be narrowing margins in recent years.

United States presidential election results for St. Francis County, Arkansas

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	2,909	48.65%	2,953	49.39%	117	1.96%
2020	3,242	45.61%	3,604	50.70%	262	3.69%
2016	3,195	43.00%	4,031	54.25%	204	2.75%
2012	3,368	40.28%	4,910	58.72%	84	1.00%
2008	3,917	41.21%	5,486	57.72%	102	1.07%
2004	3,815	39.79%	5,684	59.28%	89	0.93%
2000	3,414	40.18%	4,986	58.69%	96	1.13%
1996	2,523	29.19%	5,562	64.35%	559	6.47%
1992	3,289	30.93%	6,548	61.57%	798	7.50%
1988	4,298	47.86%	4,656	51.85%	26	0.29%
1984	5,378	52.10%	4,866	47.14%	78	0.76%
1980	4,485	42.77%	5,816	55.46%	186	1.77%
1976	3,639	34.59%	6,851	65.12%	30	0.29%
1972	5,692	65.95%	2,674	30.98%	265	3.07%
1968	1,608	17.58%	3,284	35.91%	4,254	46.51%
1964	3,377	47.98%	3,651	51.88%	10	0.14%
1960	1,786	39.53%	2,432	53.83%	300	6.64%
1956	1,884	44.87%	2,114	50.35%	201	4.79%
1952	1,792	42.08%	2,466	57.90%	1	0.02%
1948	178	8.26%	1,011	46.91%	966	44.83%
1944	446	21.16%	1,654	78.46%	8	0.38%
1940	192	10.14%	1,671	88.23%	31	1.64%
1936	94	4.59%	1,938	94.72%	14	0.68%
1932	130	5.49%	2,191	92.56%	46	1.94%
1928	617	30.82%	1,376	68.73%	9	0.45%
1924	433	29.52%	972	66.26%	62	4.23%
1920	903	40.82%	1,252	56.60%	57	2.58%
1916	395	29.15%	960	70.85%	0	0.00%
1912	296	29.19%	563	55.52%	155	15.29%
1908	755	51.12%	619	41.91%	103	6.97%
1904	577	43.29%	737	55.29%	19	1.43%
1900	703	51.84%	634	46.76%	19	1.40%
1896	455	29.35%	1,087	70.13%	8	0.52%

• Forrest City (county seat)
• Madison

• Caldwell
• Colt
• Heth
• Hughes
• Palestine
• Proctor
• Round Pond
• Wheatley
• Widener

Townships in Arkansas are the divisions of a county. Each township includes unincorporated areas; some may have incorporated cities or towns within part of their boundaries. Arkansas townships have limited purposes in modern times. However, the United States census does list Arkansas population based on townships (sometimes referred to as "county subdivisions" or "minor civil divisions"). Townships are also of value for historical purposes in terms of genealogical research. Each town or city is within one or more townships in an Arkansas county based on census maps and publications. The townships of St. Francis County are listed below; listed in parentheses are the cities, towns, and/or census-designated places that are fully or partially inside the township.

School districts include:

• Forrest City School District
• Palestine-Wheatley School District
• West Memphis School District

Former school districts:

• Hughes School District

• Al Green, soul singer
• Charlie Rich, country singer
• Sonny Liston, world heavyweight boxing champion
• Mark R. Martin, Secretary of State of Arkansas

• List of lakes in St. Francis County, Arkansas
• National Register of Historic Places listings in St. Francis County, Arkansas

• Hild, Matthew (2004). "Labor, Third-Party Politics, and New South Democracy in Arkansas, 1884-1896". The Arkansas Historical Quarterly. 63 (1). Arkansas Historical Association: 24–43. doi:10.2307/40019008. JSTOR 40019008.
• Welch, Melanie (2001). "Violence and the Decline of Black Politics in St. Francis County". The Arkansas Historical Quarterly. 60 (4). Arkansas Historical Association: 360–93. doi:10.2307/40038253. JSTOR 40038253.

• St. Francis county official website
• St. Francis, Arkansas entry on the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture

35°01′36″N 90°42′15″W / 35.02667°N 90.70417°W / 35.02667; -90.70417