Mount Ida is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Arkansas, United States. Founded in 1842, the city saw a silver boom in the 1880s bring early prosperity and economic development to the area.
Today, the economy is largely ranching, poultry farming, silviculture, and tourism around Lake Ouachita. It is known as the quartz crystal capital of the U.S. and is known worldwide for its quartz deposits. US 270 leads east to Hot Springs and northwest to Heavener, Oklahoma, while AR 27 leads northeast to Danville and southwest to Norman. Mount Ida, the mountain, is about southwest of the town along Route 27.
Demographics
2020 census
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
|+Mount Ida racial composition
!scope="col"| Race
!scope="col"| Number
!scope="col"| Percentage
|-
!scope="row"| White (non-Hispanic)
| 869
| 87.25%
|-
!scope="row"| Black or African American (non-Hispanic)
| 4
| 0.4%
|-
!scope="row"| Native American
| 16
| 1.61%
|-
!scope="row"| Asian
| 1
| 0.1%
|-
!scope="row"| Pacific Islander
| 3
| 0.3%
|-
!scope="row"| Other/Mixed
| 55
| 5.52%
|-
!scope="row"| Hispanic or Latino
| 48
| 4.82%
|}
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 996 people, 428 households, and 273 families residing in the city.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 981 people, 412 households, and 257 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 471 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.53% White, 0.10% Black or African American, 1.94% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.10% from other races, and 1.02% from two or more races. 0.51% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 412 households, out of which 22.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.6% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 23.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.74.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 19.2% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 18.3% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 34.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 50 years. For every 100 females, there were 78.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $21,438, and the median income for a family was $30,714. Males had a median income of $25,875 versus $20,179 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,532. About 18.9% of families and 23.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.2% of those under age 18 and 16.0% of those age 65 or over.
Parks and recreation
thumb|Lake Ouachita north of Mount Ida, Arkansas
The Ouachita National Forest is located in Montgomery County, and is close to Mount Ida. It is the South's oldest and largest national forest, Lake Ouachita, one of the largest lakes in the region, is partially situated within Montgomery County.
==Notable people==<!--consensus reached to standardize this heading per WP:WikiProject Cities/US Guideline -->
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- Mark Davis, professional sport fisherman of the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society; born in Mount Ida
- Lon Warneke, Major League Baseball player, Major League umpire; born in Mount Ida
- Charles L. Watkins, first Parliamentarian of the United States Senate; born and raised in Mount Ida