Monticello is the county seat of Drew County, Arkansas. As of 2024, it had an estimated population of 8,185. Founded in 1849 in the Arkansas Timberlands near the Arkansas Delta region, the city has long been a commercial, cultural and educational hub for southeast Arkansas. With a historically agriculture- and silviculture-based economy, it has diversified to include growth from the medical sector and the University of Arkansas at Monticello.