[4] In November 2022, voters overturned the prohibition, approving a measure to allow countywide retail alcohol sales.

Hot Spring County is mostly within the mountainous segment of the region, mostly covered in hardwood and pine forests.

Hot Spring County contains two state parks, DeGray Lake Resort State Park and Lake Catherine State Park, and two Wildlife Management Area (WMA), DeGray Lake WMA, and Jack Mountain WMA maintained by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

The 94-room DeGray Lodge and Convention Center includes a restaurant and 18-hole championship rated golf course.

Traditional state park amenities for camping, hiking, fishing, boating, picnic tables, and horseback riding are also offered.

The land is owned by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and extends into Clark County.

The population increased from 30,353 to 32,923, a gain of 8.5%, with incomes rising and poverty declining for almost every demographic.

The county's percentage of residents holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.0%, significantly below state and national averages of 21.1% and 29.8%, respectively.

All five high schools offer Advanced Placement (AP) courses and are accredited by the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE).

Hot Spring County contains one institution of higher education, ASU Three Rivers, a public community college in Malvern.

The facility offers books, e-books, media, reference, youth, business and genealogy services.

The agency is led by the Hot Spring County Sheriff, an official elected by countywide vote every two years.

Hot Spring County District Court is located at 410 Locust Street in Malvern.

The quorum court is the legislative branch of the county government and controls all spending and revenue collection.

Representatives are called justices of the peace and are elected from county districts every even-numbered year.

Property tax is assessed by the Hot Spring County Assessor annually based upon the fair market value of the property and determining which tax rate, commonly called a millage in Arkansas, will apply.

This tax is collected by the Hot Spring County Collector between the first business day of March of each year through October 15 without penalty.

[26] Hot Spring County has an additional sales and use tax of 1.50%, which has been in effect since January 1, 2009.

The remaining communities are in the south part of the county near the Ouachita River, each with a population under 400 as of 2010: Donaldson, Friendship and Midway.

[28] Hot Spring County has dozens of unincorporated communities and ghost towns within its borders.

This is due to early settlers in Arkansas tending to settle in small clusters rather than incorporated towns.

Other communities are simply a few dwellings at a crossroads that have adopted a common place name over time.

Each township includes unincorporated areas; some may have incorporated cities or towns within part of their boundaries.

However, the United States census does list Arkansas population based on townships (sometimes referred to as "county subdivisions" or "minor civil divisions").

Each town or city is within one or more townships in an Arkansas county based on census maps and publications.