Bolthole Index county-legal census · checked 2026-07-08
54 of Arkansas's 75 counties — 72% — have no county-wide zoning. That is the 4th-largest count of any state. The strongest of them on the Bolthole Index is Clark County (83/100). Every entry below cites the county’s own official source.
Rules change, and cities inside these counties set their own — treat this as a verified starting point, not legal advice. All 969 counties nationwide → Arkansas: no building codes → Arkansas: no codes, no zoning → Full Arkansas profile →
54 of 75 Arkansas counties · sorted by Index score
The county has no planning/zoning department; zoning applies only within the corporate limits of cities like Arkadelphia and Gurdon, not unincorporated Clark County.
Clark County Arkansas - Official County Government Website ↗No county planning or zoning office is listed for Cleveland County on the state's official county directory, indicating no countywide zoning in unincorporated areas.
Arkansas.gov - Cleveland County ↗No county planning or zoning department is listed for Drew County; zoning applies only within incorporated municipalities such as Monticello.
Arkansas.gov - Drew County ↗Arkansas counties may adopt zoning but Dallas County lists no planning or zoning office, indicating unincorporated areas are not county-zoned.
Arkansas.gov - Dallas County Offices ↗No countywide zoning ordinance or planning/zoning office is documented for Randolph County; Arkansas counties generally do not zone unincorporated rural land absent adoption.
Randolph County (Arkansas.gov county portal) ↗Ouachita County has no county-wide zoning ordinance for unincorporated areas; land-use control is set by its municipalities.
Ouachita County, AR Code of Ordinances (Municode) ↗Grant County's official department list includes no planning or zoning office and there is no county-wide zoning ordinance; zoning controls exist only within municipalities such…
Grant County, AR - Officials & Departments ↗The county does not enforce county-wide zoning; no planning/zoning department or ordinance is present. Zoning exists only within incorporated cities such as Huntsville.
Madison County, Arkansas - Official Website (offices/departments) ↗Hempstead County has no comprehensive county-wide zoning ordinance or county planning/zoning department; land-use regulation exists only within municipalities like Hope.
Hempstead County, Arkansas (official county site) ↗The county has adopted only an Interim Land Use Policy Plan (Ord. 1998-016); no actual zoning ordinance with districts/map has been adopted for the unincorporated area.
Sharp County Code of Ordinances, Chapter 13 ↗Zoning in Polk County is administered at the city level; there is no countywide zoning ordinance for unincorporated land.
Association of Arkansas Counties - Polk County ↗Perry County has no county planning or zoning department and no county-wide zoning ordinance; land-use controls exist only within incorporated cities.
Perry County - Arkansas.gov ↗Ashley County's official department list includes no planning or zoning office and there is no county-wide zoning ordinance; controls exist only within municipalities.
Ashley County - County Officials ↗No countywide zoning is administered by Van Buren County; land-use zoning in Arkansas is generally handled by municipalities, not rural counties.
Arkansas.gov - Van Buren County ↗No county planning or zoning department or ordinance exists; land use in unincorporated areas is unregulated by the county.
Yell County AR - Government ↗Chapter 13, Article II (Planning/Zoning) only recites the Arkansas enabling statute (A.C.A. 14-17-209/210) and leaves the operative Section "Reserved," indicating no county zoni…
Clay County Code of Ordinances, Chapter 13 (Urban/Rural Development) ↗Independence County does not enforce county-wide residential zoning; the county portal lists no planning/zoning office.
Arkansas.gov - Independence County ↗Union County's official offices listing includes no planning or zoning department, and county guidance references no zoning outside municipal limits.
Union County Arkansas - Official Site ↗No county-wide zoning office or ordinance exists; the county has no planning/zoning department and zoning is handled only at the municipal level.
Pike County, Arkansas Official Website ↗Arkansas County has not adopted comprehensive countywide zoning; land-use regulation exists only within municipalities, and no county planning/zoning department is listed.
Arkansas.gov - Arkansas County ↗No county planning or zoning office is listed for Calhoun County, consistent with this rural Arkansas county having no county-wide zoning in unincorporated areas.
Arkansas.gov - Calhoun County ↗No county planning or zoning department appears on the Baxter County site; the county code merely authorizes a planning board to prepare zoning, with no adopted county-wide zoni…
Baxter County AR - Government Website ↗Inferred: no county planning board or zoning office is listed; Arkansas counties are zoned only where a planning board adopts zoning, which was not found for Howard County.
Arkansas.gov - Howard County ↗No county planning/zoning office is listed and the county has no formal zoning ordinance.
Arkansas.gov - Searcy County ↗No county planning or zoning department is listed on the official White County site; zoning is handled at the municipal level.
White County (AR) Government ↗No county planning or zoning department is listed for Nevada County; county zoning is optional in Arkansas and not adopted here.
Arkansas.gov - Nevada County ↗The county maintains no planning or zoning department and has not established county-wide zoning in unincorporated areas; land-use control exists only within municipalities.
Little River County - Departments ↗No county planning or zoning department appears among Hot Spring County's official offices, indicating no county-wide zoning in unincorporated areas.
Hot Spring County, Arkansas - Official Site ↗Zoning in Phillips County is administered at the city level (Helena-West Helena code enforcement); no countywide zoning ordinance for unincorporated areas was found.
Arkansas.gov - Phillips County ↗No county zoning department exists; zoning in Sevier County is handled only within incorporated municipalities.
Arkansas.gov - Sevier County directory ↗No county planning/zoning department is listed for Bradley County and Arkansas counties generally have no countywide zoning unless specifically adopted.
Arkansas.gov Bradley County Portal ↗The county maintains no county-wide zoning; no planning/zoning department or ordinance is listed. Land-use regulation exists only within municipalities such as Yellville and Bul…
Marion County, Arkansas - Official Website (departments) ↗Lafayette County has no planning or zoning department and no county-wide zoning ordinance; land-use controls exist only within incorporated cities.
Lafayette County - Arkansas.gov ↗The county lists no planning/zoning office; zoning is set by the incorporated cities, with no county-wide zoning ordinance for unincorporated Carroll County.
Arkansas.gov - Carroll County ↗The county directory includes no planning or zoning department; land-use rules apply only within cities such as Paris and Booneville.
Logan County, Arkansas - County Directory ↗The county maintains no planning/zoning department and has not adopted a general residential zoning ordinance for unincorporated areas; land-use regulation is handled by municip…
Greene County AR – Official County Website ↗Arkansas county zoning is opt-in and requires establishing a county planning board and adopting an ordinance under Ark. Code Title 14 Ch. 17; no Prairie County planning/zoning b…
Prairie County, Arkansas — official state county portal ↗No planning or zoning department appears among Franklin County's listed offices, consistent with unzoned rural Arkansas counties.
Franklin County Arkansas Government - Departments ↗No county planning or zoning office is listed for Lee County; land-use regulation is handled by incorporated cities such as Marianna, not the county.
Arkansas.gov - Lee County ↗No county planning/zoning office is listed; zoning exists only within incorporated cities, not at the county level.
Arkansas.gov - Monroe County ↗No county planning or zoning department is listed; land use in unincorporated Sebastian County is not subject to county zoning controls.
Sebastian County Government (official county site) ↗No county planning or zoning office is listed and reporting indicates land-use is left to the municipalities, consistent with this rural county having no county-wide zoning in u…
Arkansas.gov - Chicot County ↗No county planning or zoning office appears in the official Jackson County directory; land-use/zoning in Arkansas is generally set by municipalities rather than at the rural cou…
Arkansas.gov - Jackson County Directory ↗No county planning or zoning office was found on official Lawrence County sources; Arkansas county zoning is optional and appears not adopted here.
Arkansas.gov - Lawrence County ↗No county planning or zoning department is listed for Scott County; county zoning is optional in Arkansas and not adopted here, so land-use control is municipal only.
Arkansas.gov - Scott County ↗No county planning or zoning department is listed for Lonoke County; Arkansas counties may adopt zoning under Title 14 but none is evident here.
Arkansas.gov - Lonoke County ↗St. Francis County has not adopted a general residential zoning ordinance and relies on its municipalities for zoning; the county portal lists no planning/zoning office.
Arkansas.gov - St. Francis County ↗The Saline County Planning Board regulates only subdivision rules; no countywide zoning ordinance was found for the unincorporated county.
Saline County Planning Board ↗No county planning board or zoning department is listed for Woodruff County on the state's official county portal; Arkansas counties zone unincorporated land only by adopting an…
Arkansas.gov - Woodruff County ↗The county government lists no planning or zoning department; unincorporated Johnson County has no county-wide zoning.
Johnson County AR (county departments) ↗No county zoning or planning department is listed; the county has not adopted a general zoning ordinance for unincorporated areas.
Poinsett County, AR official website ↗The county states it currently does not have a planning board in place; only floodplain permitting is handled at the county level.
Craighead County - Floodplain (Office of Emergency Management) ↗Crawford County lists no planning or zoning department, indicating no countywide zoning of unincorporated areas.
Crawford County, Arkansas - County Officials/Departments ↗County Planning states there is currently no zoning in unincorporated Benton County; single-family residential and agricultural uses are allowed by-right.
Benton County AR - County Planning FAQ ↗Every county here has a full profile — water, land prices, hazard safety, seclusion, and the rest of its building rules. See the Arkansas state page for all 75 counties ranked, or go back to the national list.
General guidance, not legal advice. Off-grid, building, and land-use rules are often set at the county level and change often. Verify with your county and state before acting. Data reviewed 2026-06-26.
