Forrest City, Arkansas demographics

Forrest City, AR demographics: median age 36.9; 13.8% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Forrest City city, Arkansas · Incorporated city · GEOID 0524430. The survey estimates a population of 12,646 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Forrest City is 36.9 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.4 years. There are 3,831 households (±304). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	36.9 ±1.4	38.5 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 12,646
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Arkansas	U.S.
Under 18	2,690 ±363	21.3% ±2.9 pp	23.1%	22.0%
18–34	3,314 ±357	26.2% ±2.8 pp	22.3%	22.8%
35–64	5,174 ±414	40.9% ±3.3 pp	37.0%	38.0%
65 and older	1,468 ±231	11.6% ±1.8 pp	17.6%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 12,646
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Arkansas	U.S.
Male	7,412 ±199	58.6% ±1.6 pp	49.4%	49.5%
Female	5,234 ±199	41.4% ±1.6 pp	50.6%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 12,646
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Arkansas	U.S.
White alone	2,955 ±303	23.4% ±2.4 pp	69.1%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	9,276 ±332	73.4% ±2.6 pp	14.7%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	68 ±49 · low precision	0.5% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.9%
Asian alone	23 ±25 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	1.6%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	0 ±21 · low precision	0.0% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.2%
Some other race alone	32 ±33 · low precision	0.3% ±0.3 pp · low precision	3.2%	7.1%
Two or more races	292 ±192 · low precision	2.3% ±1.5 pp · low precision	10.3%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 12,646
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Arkansas	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	12,037 ±167	95.2% ±1.3 pp	91.0%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	609 ±166	4.8% ±1.3 pp	9.0%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 3,831
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Arkansas	U.S.
Married-couple family	1,046 ±272	27.3% ±6.8 pp	47.0%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	107 ±70 · low precision	2.8% ±1.8 pp · low precision	4.8%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	1,019 ±224	26.6% ±5.5 pp	12.8%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	1,588 ±275	41.5% ±6.4 pp	29.9%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	71 ±62 · low precision	1.9% ±1.6 pp · low precision	5.5%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 3,831
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Arkansas	U.S.
Households with people under 18	1,317 ±223	34.4% ±5.1 pp	30.6%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	2,514 ±251	65.6% ±4.0 pp	69.4%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 3,831
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Arkansas	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	1,588 ±275	41.5% ±6.4 pp	29.9%	28.7%
Two-person households	916 ±228	23.9% ±5.6 pp	34.8%	33.8%
Three-person households	446 ±211	11.6% ±5.4 pp	15.2%	15.3%
Four-person households	570 ±173	14.9% ±4.4 pp	11.5%	12.6%
Five-person households	151 ±109 · low precision	3.9% ±2.8 pp · low precision	5.4%	5.9%
Six-person households	160 ±115 · low precision	4.2% ±3.0 pp · low precision	2.2%	2.2%
Seven or more people	0 ±30 · low precision	0.0% ±0.8 pp · low precision	1.2%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 12,646
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Arkansas	U.S.
Native	12,204 ±216	96.5% ±1.7 pp	94.6%	85.9%
Foreign born	442 ±216	3.5% ±1.7 pp	5.4%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 11,789
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Arkansas	U.S.
English only	11,286 ±231	95.7% ±1.9 pp	91.7%	77.7%
Spanish	379 ±178	3.2% ±1.5 pp	6.1%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	17 ±30 · low precision	0.1% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	89 ±107 · low precision	0.8% ±0.9 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	0 ±21 · low precision	0.0% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	0 ±21 · low precision	0.0% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.4%	2.0%
Korean	0 ±21 · low precision	0.0% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	0 ±21 · low precision	0.0% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.1%	1.1%
Vietnamese	0 ±21 · low precision	0.0% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	0 ±21 · low precision	0.0% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	0 ±21 · low precision	0.0% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.7%	1.1%
Arabic	9 ±17 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	9 ±16 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 8,831
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Arkansas	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	1,335 ±265	15.1% ±3.0 pp	11.3%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	3,904 ±402	44.2% ±4.4 pp	34.1%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	1,856 ±286	21.0% ±3.2 pp	20.7%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	517 ±167	5.9% ±1.9 pp	8.2%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	750 ±239	8.5% ±2.7 pp	16.3%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	469 ±233	5.3% ±2.6 pp	9.5%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 12,413
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Arkansas	U.S.
Same house	9,920 ±492	79.9% ±3.9 pp	87.4%	87.7%
Moved within same county	785 ±373	6.3% ±3.0 pp	6.5%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	1,555 ±394	12.5% ±3.2 pp	3.4%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	141 ±83 · low precision	1.1% ±0.7 pp · low precision	2.4%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	12 ±22 · low precision	0.1% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

10.7% of Forrest City residents (±2.8 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 9.0% in Arkansas and 8.4% nationally. 84.4% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Forrest City	Arkansas	U.S.	Compared with Arkansas
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	10.7% ±2.8 pp	9.0%	8.4%	Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households	84.4% ±3.1 pp	86.7%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	3.8% ±1.2 pp	7.4%	6.2%	Lower

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Forrest City . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Forrest City housing and cost context or return to the city profile.