Arkansas County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 75 counties in Arkansas, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 65.9. 28 counties score high, very high, or extreme.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
Arkansas Snapshot
75 Counties Scored
65.9 Mean Score
67.4 Median Score
90.5 Phillips County Most Distressed
28.3 Benton County Least Distressed
1 extreme county distress9 very high county distress18 high county distress23 moderate-high county distress15 moderate county distress8 moderate-low county distress1 low county distress
Score Label Distribution Arkansas County Map
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Low county distress Moderate-low county distress Moderate county distress High county distress Extreme county distress
All 75 Arkansas counties colored by county distress score range. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How Arkansas's 75 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Arkansas Counties
75 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Score Label | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Phillips County | 90.5 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 2 | 20 | Crittenden County | 89.0 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 3 | 21 | Desha County | 88.7 | very high county distress | Labor |
| 4 | 33 | Lee County | 86.3 | very high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 5 | 38 | Chicot County | 85.9 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 6 | 45 | St. Francis County | 85.3 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 7 | 68 | Jefferson County | 84.1 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 8 | 104 | Miller County | 82.0 | very high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 9 | 115 | Monroe County | 81.5 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 10 | 141 | Ashley County | 80.3 | very high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 11 | 149 | Nevada County | 79.9 | high county distress | Labor |
| 12 | 177 | Mississippi County | 78.8 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 13 | 208 | Bradley County | 77.7 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 14 | 209 | Dallas County | 77.7 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 15 | 235 | Drew County | 76.8 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 16 | 258 | Union County | 76.0 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 17 | 270 | Arkansas County | 75.7 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 18 | 291 | Lafayette County | 75.2 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 19 | 301 | Columbia County | 75.0 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 20 | 379 | Clark County | 73.1 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 21 | 382 | Pulaski County | 73.0 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 22 | 397 | Jackson County | 72.4 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 23 | 416 | Hempstead County | 71.8 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 24 | 425 | Greene County | 71.6 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 25 | 426 | Ouachita County | 71.6 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 26 | 430 | Howard County | 71.4 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 27 | 445 | Garland County | 71.1 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 28 | 451 | Poinsett County | 71.0 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 29 | 497 | Woodruff County | 69.9 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 30 | 506 | Johnson County | 69.8 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 31 | 520 | Cross County | 69.5 | moderate-high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 32 | 546 | Craighead County | 69.1 | moderate-high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 33 | 550 | Lawrence County | 69.0 | moderate-high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 34 | 554 | Van Buren County | 68.9 | moderate-high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 35 | 584 | Hot Spring County | 68.5 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 36 | 587 | Little River County | 68.5 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 37 | 596 | Scott County | 68.3 | moderate-high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 38 | 643 | Lincoln County | 67.4 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 39 | 667 | Izard County | 67.1 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 40 | 762 | Perry County | 64.8 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 41 | 790 | Cleveland County | 64.4 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 42 | 799 | Pike County | 64.3 | moderate-high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 43 | 836 | Polk County | 63.7 | moderate-high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 44 | 839 | Fulton County | 63.6 | moderate-high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 45 | 842 | Conway County | 63.6 | moderate-high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 46 | 854 | Sharp County | 63.4 | moderate-high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 47 | 857 | Montgomery County | 63.3 | moderate-high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 48 | 868 | Clay County | 63.0 | moderate-high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 49 | 904 | Stone County | 62.5 | moderate-high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 50 | 1,002 | Sebastian County | 60.7 | moderate-high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 51 | 1,006 | White County | 60.7 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 52 | 1,121 | Pope County | 58.6 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 53 | 1,130 | Franklin County | 58.4 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 54 | 1,145 | Logan County | 58.2 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 55 | 1,192 | Marion County | 57.2 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 56 | 1,193 | Crawford County | 57.2 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 57 | 1,207 | Cleburne County | 57.0 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 58 | 1,241 | Prairie County | 56.2 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 59 | 1,250 | Faulkner County | 56.1 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 60 | 1,256 | Randolph County | 56.0 | moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 61 | 1,287 | Baxter County | 55.5 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 62 | 1,375 | Yell County | 53.8 | moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 63 | 1,377 | Sevier County | 53.8 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 64 | 1,473 | Independence County | 52.4 | moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 65 | 1,531 | Calhoun County | 51.2 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 66 | 1,545 | Madison County | 50.9 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 67 | 1,596 | Carroll County | 49.8 | moderate-low county distress | Delinquency |
| 68 | 1,607 | Boone County | 49.6 | moderate-low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 69 | 1,652 | Newton County | 48.8 | moderate-low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 70 | 1,695 | Lonoke County | 48.1 | moderate-low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 71 | 1,722 | Washington County | 47.7 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 72 | 1,778 | Searcy County | 46.8 | moderate-low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 73 | 1,873 | Grant County | 45.1 | moderate-low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 74 | 2,095 | Saline County | 40.9 | moderate-low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 75 | 2,679 | Benton County | 28.3 | low county distress | Default & Legal |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using five equal-weighted domains. Each domain averages its member indicators' county ranks, and the composite is the mean of those domain scores. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.
extreme county distress — 1 Arkansas county
very high county distress — 9 Arkansas counties
high county distress — 18 Arkansas counties
moderate-high county distress — 23 Arkansas counties
moderate county distress — 15 Arkansas counties
moderate-low county distress — 8 Arkansas counties
low-moderate county distress — 0 Arkansas counties
low county distress — 1 Arkansas county
very low county distress — 0 Arkansas counties
exceptionally low county distress — 0 Arkansas counties