Garland County is a county in Arkansas, United States, in the Ouachita Mountains west of Little Rock. It had a population of 100,180 at the 2020 census and covers 678 square miles (1,760 km2) of land centred near 34°35′N 93°07′W.
Hot Springs is the county seat, and its postal code is 71901. The county has 2 cities, 2 towns and 6 census-designated places, plus a scatter of small unincorporated communities. Garland County sits in the Central time zone and carries FIPS code 05051.
Towns & Villages in Garland County
Ten incorporated and census-designated places sit inside Garland County, alongside dozens of small unincorporated crossroads and former post-office communities that never took city government. CDP = census-designated place (unincorporated but Census-recognized); Unincorp. = unincorporated community with no separate population count.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hot Springs | City · seat | 37,930 | 71901 |
| Mountain Pine | City | — | 71956 |
| Fountain Lake | Town | — | 71913 |
| Lonsdale | Town | — | 72087 |
| Hot Springs Village | CDP | 15,861 | 71909 |
| Lake Hamilton | CDP | — | 71913 |
| Pearcy | CDP | — | 71964 |
| Rockwell | CDP | — | 71901 |
| Crystal Springs | CDP | — | 71901 |
| Piney | CDP | — | 71901 |
| Jessieville | Unincorp. | — | 71949 |
| Royal | Unincorp. | — | 71968 |
| Avant | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bear | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Blakely | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Blue Springs | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Chandler | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Crystal Springs Landing | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Euclid Heights | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hamilton | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hawes | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hempwallace | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lake Catherine | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lofton | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Maddox | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Meyers | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Mount Tabor | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Mountain Valley | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Old Bonnerdale | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Oma | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Ozark Lithia | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Peak | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Pettyview | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Pleasant Hill | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Price | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Red Oak | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Sunshine | Unincorp. | — | — |
Two ZIP-shared pairs are worth a note: Lake Hamilton and Piney both use Hot Springs’ 71913 carrier route, and Crystal Springs and Rockwell both route through the 71901 Hot Springs office — none of the four has its own dedicated ZIP code.
ZIP Codes
- 71901 — Hot Springs (also serves Crystal Springs, Rockwell, Piney)
- 71913 — Hot Springs (also serves Fountain Lake, Lake Hamilton)
- 71909 — Hot Springs Village
- 71956 — Mountain Pine
- 72087 — Lonsdale
- 71964 — Pearcy
- 71968 — Royal
- 71949 — Jessieville
Four additional Hot Springs ZIP codes (71902, 71903, 71910, 71914) are PO-box-only and carry no residential population. The small unincorporated crossroads scattered across the county’s back roads pull mail through whichever of the eight delivery ZIPs above is closest.
Geography
Garland County straddles the Ouachita Mountains, a rare east–west-trending range in North America, giving the county a landscape of forested ridges, narrow valleys and several large reservoir lakes — Lake Hamilton, Lake Catherine and Lake Ouachita all lie partly or wholly within its borders. Hot Springs National Park, the smallest and one of the oldest units in the National Park System, sits inside the city of Hot Springs itself, protecting the thermal springs the county is named for. The county borders Perry County to the north, Hot Spring County to the south, Saline County to the east, Montgomery County to the west, and Yell County to the northwest. Saline County (Towns & Villages in Saline County) and Yell County (Towns & Villages in Yell County) both have live profiles on this site.
Demographics
Garland County’s population was 100,180 at the 2020 census. Hot Springs (37,930) and Hot Springs Village (15,861) together hold more than half the county’s residents. Median household income in Garland County runs below the Arkansas median of $58,700, reflecting the county’s large share of retirees drawn by Hot Springs Village and the lakes. Population density works out to roughly 148 people per square mile, concentrated heavily around Hot Springs and the lake communities rather than spread evenly across the mountainous back country.
Economy & Local Life
Tourism and healthcare anchor the county economy. Hot Springs National Park and the city’s historic bathhouse row draw year-round visitors, supported by Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort, one of Arkansas’s largest employers and the site of the annual Arkansas Derby each spring. National Park Medical Center and CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs are major regional healthcare employers. Hot Springs Village, one of the largest gated retirement communities in the country, drives much of the county’s residential growth and property-tax base.
History
Garland County was formed on April 5, 1873, during Reconstruction, carved from parts of Hot Spring, Montgomery and Saline counties. It is named for Augustus H. Garland, who served as the state’s 11th governor and later as U.S. Attorney General. The county’s hot springs had already drawn visitors for decades before its formation — the federal government set the springs aside as a protected reservation in 1832, under President Andrew Jackson, making it the first piece of land the federal government ever set aside for conservation, decades before Yellowstone. That reservation became Hot Springs National Park in 1921.
Getting There
U.S. Route 70 and U.S. Route 270 both run through Hot Springs, and Arkansas Highway 7 crosses the county north–south toward Lake Ouachita and Jessieville.
- Little Rock — 55 miles east
- Malvern — 22 miles southeast
- Arkadelphia — 40 miles south
- Mena — 65 miles west
Memorial Field Airport (HOT) in Hot Springs offers general aviation and limited commercial service; the nearest major commercial airport is Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport (LIT) in Little Rock.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Garland County, Arkansas?
It sits in west-central Arkansas, in the Ouachita Mountains about an hour west of Little Rock.
What is the population of Garland County?
100,180 at the 2020 census.
How big is Garland County?
678 square miles (1,760 km2) of land area.
What is the county seat of Garland County?
Hot Springs is the county seat.
How many towns and cities are in Garland County?
Two cities, two towns and six census-designated places, plus numerous small unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Garland County?
71901, 71909, 71913, 71949, 71956, 71964, 71968 and 72087 are the county’s residential delivery ZIP codes.
What is Garland County known for?
Hot Springs National Park and the thermal bathhouses of downtown Hot Springs, plus Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort and the Hot Springs Village retirement community.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Arkansas.