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County profile Arkansas Metropolitan HRSA MUA/P

Black health in Pulaski County, Arkansas

142,800

Black residents (ACS)

35.99%

Of county population

$39,700

Median household income, Black

10.90%

Uninsured, Black residents

Pulaski County, Little Rock, has roughly 140,000 Black residents (~36%). The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in Little Rock is the state's only academic medical centre; its Center for Health Literacy runs the state's Maternal Care Deserts research. Arkansas Children's Hospital, also in Little Rock, serves the county's pediatric population and operates the state's only pediatric level-I trauma centre.

Arkansas's private-option Medicaid expansion (ARHOME) has kept the county's Black uninsured rate meaningfully below the rates in non-expansion Southern states; UAMS's Rural Health Center of Excellence extends much of its Delta-region outreach from Pulaski.

Headline outcomes

Race-stratified county-level figures pulled from CDC WONDER small-area estimates, the annual County Health Rankings, and the CDC NVSS state/county life tables. County values with cell counts below CDC suppression thresholds are marked as data pending.

Life expectancy (Black)

72.50 yrs

At birth, CDC NVSS Small-Area LE

Infant mortality (Black)

13.10

Per 1,000 live births, CDC WONDER

CVD mortality (Black)

377.20

Age-adjusted per 100k, CDC WONDER I00-I99

County Health Rankings

#28

Overall rank in Arkansas (lower = better)

HRSA Medically Underserved Area / Population HPSA: Primary Care

Policy context in Pulaski

Arkansas has adopted Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, which gives low-income Black adults in this county a direct pathway to primary-care and prescription coverage. Medicaid does not cover doula services in this state. Postpartum Medicaid coverage extends for 12 months after delivery — the federal recommended standard, in place here.

Where to get help in Pulaski

Find Black health providers & resources in Pulaski

Black clinicians in Pulaski

Directory filtered to this county & state

Federally Qualified Health Centers

Sliding-scale FQHCs across Arkansas

Crisis & support resources

988, postpartum helplines, Black-serving crisis lines

Arkansas state profile

Statewide context, Medicaid policy, all 10 health facets

References & primary sources

  1. Demographics: US Census ACS 5-year 2019–2023, Tables B03002 (race), B01003 (total population), S1903 (median income), B27010B (uninsured by race).
  2. Mortality and life expectancy: CDC WONDER county-level Multiple Cause of Death and Underlying Cause of Death, pooled 2020–2022; CDC NVSS Small-Area Life Expectancy Estimates, 2016–2020 release.
  3. County Health Rankings: University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute & Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2024 release.
  4. HRSA shortage-area designations: HRSA HPSA Find and MUA/P Find, current as of 2025.
  5. Rural-Urban Continuum Codes: USDA Economic Research Service, 2023 release.

Data refreshed:

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