Izard County area

Izard County, Arkansas covers 583.9 square miles: 580.2 square miles of land and 3.698 square miles of water. Its county seat is Melbourne. An estimated 14,405 people lived there in 2025.

Official Census measurements · GEOID 050652026 Gazetteer · retrieved September 27, 2026
Land area580.2 mi²
Water area3.698 mi²
Population (2025)14,405
People per mi²25

County outline

Generalized outline of Izard County, Arkansas
2025 Census cartographic boundary, fitted to this frame. County maps are not at a common scale. The 2026 area measurements below come from the separate Gazetteer release. Map source and limitations.

Where Izard County is located

Izard County highlighted on a map of all U.S. county equivalents. About the maps

Area breakdown

Land accounts for 99.4% of Izard County’s measured area and water for 0.6%. Its combined area converts to 1,512.3 square kilometers or approximately 373,695 acres.

Green: land · blue: water

MeasurementSquare milesSquare kilometersAcres
Land580.2011,502.714371,328.6
Water3.6989.5782,366.7
Total583.8991,512.291373,695.4

How Izard County compares

By original Census land area, Izard County ranks #65 of 75 in Arkansas and #1699 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Its land area is 0.896 times the Arkansas county-equivalent median of 647.2 square miles. It accounts for 1.1% of the combined county land area in the state.

See the complete Arkansas ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?

Population and density of Izard County

The Census Bureau estimates that 14,405 people lived in Izard County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #2,198 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #50 of 75 in Arkansas. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 13,579, the population has grown by 826 (+6.1%), compared with +3.4% for Arkansas as a whole.

With 580.2 square miles of land, that is 25 people per square mile (9.6 per km²), placing Izard County #2,148 nationally for density and #42 in Arkansas. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Arkansas median is 28. Put another way, there are about 26 acres of land per resident.

Estimated population, 2020–2025 · line scaled to this county’s own range
July 1202020212022202320242025
Estimate13,60413,92014,02414,18914,29914,405
Change—+316+104+165+110+106

U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.

Cities and towns in Izard County

8 incorporated places lie at least partly in Izard County. Together they are home to 7,930 people (55.1%); the other 6,475 (44.9%) live outside any incorporated place, in unincorporated communities and rural areas.

The largest is Horseshoe Bend city, with 2,603 residents in the county (the city extends into 2 other counties). The county seat, Melbourne city, has 1,892 residents. Among places with at least 1,000 residents in 2020, Calico Rock city grew fastest since then (+9.8%).

Incorporated placePopulation 2025Since 2020Land mi²
Horseshoe Bend cityAlso in 2 other counties2,603+7.7%13.4
Calico Rock city2,003+9.8%4.772
Melbourne cityCounty seat1,892+4%6.95
Oxford city615+6.4%6.545
Mount Pleasant town383+5.8%3.502
Franklin town198+5.3%2.145
Pineville town164+7.9%1.807
Guion town72+4.3%0.558

Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each place inside Izard County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer, for the whole place even where it extends into other counties. How communities are listed.

Metropolitan area

Izard County is not part of any metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area in the Office of Management and Budget’s July 2023 delineation; 1,306 other county equivalents are also outside one. These areas are built around an urban core of at least 10,000 people plus the counties tied to it by commuting, so counties outside them are generally rural.

ZIP codes

20 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Izard County; 14 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.

7250172512725137251772519725287253272536725407255672560725617256572566725737257672577725847258572587

ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.

Counties bordering Izard County

Izard County shares a land border with 5 county equivalents. It has more land than 1 of them. The largest neighbor is Independence County (763.7 mi²) and the smallest is Baxter County (553.9 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Izard County forms a block of 3,726.9 mi² of land, of which it holds 15.6%.

Map of Izard County and the 5 county equivalents that border it Stone County, Arkansas: 606.4 mi² landFulton County, Arkansas: 618 mi² landSharp County, Arkansas: 604.6 mi² landIndependence County, Arkansas: 763.7 mi² landBaxter County, Arkansas: 553.9 mi² land
Izard County (dark) and its bordering county equivalents. Select a neighbor to open its profile. Drawn from the 2025 Census cartographic boundaries in an equal-area projection. How borders are determined.
Bordering county equivalentLand mi²Size vs. IzardCompare
Independence County763.71.3× largerCompare
Fulton County6181.1× largerCompare
Stone County606.4about the sameCompare
Sharp County604.6about the sameCompare
Baxter County553.9about the sameCompare

How big is Izard County compared with U.S. states?

Izard County has less land than any of the 50 states. Rhode Island, the smallest state by land area, has 1,033.9 mi², about 1.8 times as much. Arkansas’s county land could hold about 90 areas the size of Izard County.

Land area: Izard County and the closest-sized states
Izard County580.2 mi²
Rhode Island1,033.9 mi²

Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 24.1 miles (38.8 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.

State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.

What stands out about Izard County?

Izard County has more land than 1,523 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.

Land area compared with the typical county equivalent
Izard County580.2 mi²
Arkansas median647.2 mi²
National median604.5 mi²

A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.

Does including water change its rank?

Using land plus water places Izard County at #1,809 nationally by total area, 110 places farther from the top than its land rank. Other county equivalents gain more area when their water measurements are included.

Its water share is 0.6%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 0.5 percentage points lower. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.

Closest positions in the national land ranking

These entries sit immediately beside Izard County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.

Land rankCounty equivalentLand mi²Comparison
#1698Weakley County, Tennessee580.4Compare
#1699Izard County, Arkansas580.2This county
#1700Butler County, Iowa580.1Compare

Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.

Representative coordinates

The Census internal point is 36.094879, -91.913625. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.

Source and precision

U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 1,502,713,782 m²; AWATER: 9,576,571 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.

Download the official county source ZIP ↗ · Methodology

Common questions

How big is Izard County?

Izard County, Arkansas has 580.2 square miles (1,502.7 km²) of land and 3.698 square miles of water, for a total area of 583.9 square miles. It ranks #1699 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.

Is Izard County the largest county in Arkansas?

No. Izard County ranks #65 of 75 in Arkansas by land area. The largest is Union County, with 1,039.1 square miles of land.

What counties border Izard County?

Izard County shares a land border with Stone County, Fulton County, Sharp County, Independence County, and Baxter County.

What is the population of Izard County?

The Census Bureau estimates Izard County had 14,405 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #2,198 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 25 people per square mile of land.

What is the county seat of Izard County?

The county seat of Izard County is Melbourne.

What cities and towns are in Izard County?

Izard County has 8 incorporated places. The most populous five are Horseshoe Bend city, Calico Rock city, Melbourne city, Oxford city, and Mount Pleasant town; 6,475 residents live outside any incorporated place.

Is Izard County part of a metropolitan area?

No. Izard County is outside every metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area in the July 2023 OMB delineation.

How many ZIP codes are in Izard County?

20 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Izard County, and 14 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.

How does Izard County compare with U.S. states?

It has less land than every state. Rhode Island, the smallest, has 1.8 times as much land.

How many acres of land are in Izard County?

The land measurement converts to approximately 371,329 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 373,695 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.

Why might another source show a different area?

Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.

Can this establish a property boundary?

No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.

Cite this county

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