County outline
Where Scott County is located
Area breakdown
Land accounts for 99.4% of Scott County’s measured area and water for 0.6%. Its combined area converts to 2,326.8 square kilometers or approximately 574,976 acres.
Green: land · blue: water
| Measurement | Square miles | Square kilometers | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | 892.85 | 2,312.471 | 571,424 |
| Water | 5.55 | 14.374 | 3,552 |
| Total | 898.4 | 2,326.845 | 574,976 |
How Scott County compares
By original Census land area, Scott County ranks #8 of 75 in Arkansas and #883 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Its land area is 1.379 times the Arkansas county-equivalent median of 647.2 square miles. It accounts for 1.7% of the combined county land area in the state.
See the complete Arkansas ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?
Population and density of Scott County
The Census Bureau estimates that 9,965 people lived in Scott County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #2,484 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #60 of 75 in Arkansas. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 9,832, the population has grown by 133 (+1.4%), compared with +3.4% for Arkansas as a whole.
With 892.9 square miles of land, that is 11 people per square mile (4.3 per km²), placing Scott County #2,603 nationally for density and #68 in Arkansas. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Arkansas median is 28. Put another way, there are about 57 acres of land per resident.
| July 1 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | 9,828 | 9,792 | 9,786 | 9,833 | 9,866 | 9,965 |
| Change | — | −36 | −6 | +47 | +33 | +99 |
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 Scott County
2 incorporated places lie at least partly in Scott County. Together they are home to 3,767 people (37.8%); the other 6,198 (62.2%) live outside any incorporated place, in unincorporated communities and rural areas.
The largest is Waldron city, with 3,387 residents in the county.
| Incorporated place | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waldron cityCounty seat | 3,387 | +0.1% | 5.634 |
| Mansfield cityAlso in 1 other county | 380 | +2.7% | 2.309 |
Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each place inside Scott County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer, for the whole place even where it extends into other counties. How communities are listed.
Metropolitan area
Scott 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
10 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Scott County; 4 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.
71953728277283372838728417292672927729447295072958
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 Scott County
Scott County shares a land border with 6 county equivalents, including 1 in Oklahoma. It has more land than 4 of them. The largest neighbor is Le Flore County (1,589.4 mi²) and the smallest is Sebastian County (531.2 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Scott County forms a block of 6,290.3 mi² of land, of which it holds 14.2%.
| Bordering county equivalent | Land mi² | Size vs. Scott | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Le Flore CountyOklahoma | 1,589.4 | 1.8× larger | Compare |
| Yell County | 930.4 | about the same | Compare |
| Polk County | 856.8 | about the same | Compare |
| Montgomery County | 780.5 | 1.1× smaller | Compare |
| Logan County | 709.1 | 1.3× smaller | Compare |
| Sebastian County | 531.2 | 1.7× smaller | Compare |
How big is Scott County compared with U.S. states?
Scott County has less land than any of the 50 states. Rhode Island, the smallest state by land area, has 1,033.9 mi², about 1.2 times as much. Arkansas’s county land could hold about 58 areas the size of Scott County.
Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 29.9 miles (48.1 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 Scott County?
Scott County has more land than 2,339 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.
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 Scott County at #987 nationally by total area, 104 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% — 0.6 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 Scott County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.
| Land rank | County equivalent | Land mi² | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| #882 | Shawano County, Wisconsin | 893.2 | Compare |
| #883 | Scott County, Arkansas | 892.9 | This county |
| #884 | Osborne County, Kansas | 892.5 | Compare |
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 34.858787, -94.063719. 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: 2,312,470,680 m²; AWATER: 14,373,451 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.
Common questions
How big is Scott County?
Scott County, Arkansas has 892.9 square miles (2,312.5 km²) of land and 5.55 square miles of water, for a total area of 898.4 square miles. It ranks #883 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.
Is Scott County the largest county in Arkansas?
No. Scott County ranks #8 of 75 in Arkansas by land area. The largest is Union County, with 1,039.1 square miles of land.
What counties border Scott County?
Scott County shares a land border with Polk County, Logan County, Sebastian County, Yell County, Le Flore County, Oklahoma, and Montgomery County.
What is the population of Scott County?
The Census Bureau estimates Scott County had 9,965 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #2,484 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 11 people per square mile of land.
What is the county seat of Scott County?
The county seat of Scott County is Waldron.
What cities and towns are in Scott County?
Scott County has 2 incorporated places. The most populous are Waldron city and Mansfield city; 6,198 residents live outside any incorporated place.
Is Scott County part of a metropolitan area?
No. Scott County is outside every metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area in the July 2023 OMB delineation.
How many ZIP codes are in Scott County?
10 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Scott County, and 4 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.
How does Scott County compare with U.S. states?
It has less land than every state. Rhode Island, the smallest, has 1.2 times as much land.
How many acres of land are in Scott County?
The land measurement converts to approximately 571,424 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 574,976 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.