Arkansas County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 75 counties in Arkansas, scored 0–100 across five domains. A county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than; the average Arkansas county scores 78.8. 55 counties score high, very high, or extreme.
Data: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Urban Institute, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts | Scores as of Aug 2026
Arkansas Snapshot
Arkansas County Map
Phillips County is the most distressed of Arkansas's 75 counties
County Distress Index score for Arkansas's 75 counties, from green (least distressed, 0–29) to red (most distressed, 80–100). Data from 2024 to Aug 2026.
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County Distress Index score · data from 2024 to Aug 2026
Point to or tap a county for its rank and score. Click it, or tap it twice, to open its page.
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 | 12 | Phillips County | 99 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 2 | 16 | Crittenden County | 99 | extreme county distress | Default & Legal |
| 3 | 23 | St. Francis County | 99 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 4 | 39 | Desha County | 98 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 5 | 40 | Lee County | 98 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 6 | 76 | Chicot County | 97 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 7 | 78 | Miller County | 97 | extreme county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 8 | 79 | Mississippi County | 97 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 9 | — | Ashley County | 96 | extreme county distress | Labor |
| 10 | — | Monroe County | 96 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 11 | — | Jefferson County | 95 | extreme county distress | Default & Legal |
| 12 | — | Arkansas County | 95 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 13 | — | Jackson County | 95 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 14 | — | Hempstead County | 94 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 15 | — | Lafayette County | 94 | extreme county distress | Default & Legal |
| 16 | — | Woodruff County | 93 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 17 | — | Clark County | 93 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 18 | — | Bradley County | 92 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 19 | — | Poinsett County | 92 | extreme county distress | Default & Legal |
| 20 | — | Nevada County | 91 | extreme county distress | Labor |
| 21 | — | Drew County | 91 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 22 | — | Ouachita County | 90 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 23 | — | Lawrence County | 90 | extreme county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 24 | — | Howard County | 90 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 25 | — | Dallas County | 89 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 26 | — | Union County | 89 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 27 | — | Scott County | 88 | very high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 28 | — | Craighead County | 88 | very high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 29 | — | Columbia County | 87 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 30 | — | Lincoln County | 86 | very high county distress | Labor |
| 31 | — | Greene County | 85 | very high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 32 | — | Cross County | 85 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 33 | — | Sharp County | 84 | very high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 34 | — | Van Buren County | 84 | very high county distress | Labor |
| 35 | — | Pike County | 84 | very high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 36 | — | Johnson County | 83 | very high county distress | Labor |
| 37 | — | Garland County | 83 | very high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 38 | — | Izard County | 83 | very high county distress | Labor |
| 39 | — | Pulaski County | 83 | very high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 40 | — | Hot Spring County | 81 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 41 | — | White County | 80 | very high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 42 | — | Montgomery County | 79 | high county distress | Labor |
| 43 | — | Perry County | 79 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 44 | — | Clay County | 76 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 45 | — | Little River County | 76 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 46 | — | Fulton County | 74 | high county distress | Labor |
| 47 | — | Randolph County | 74 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 48 | — | Stone County | 74 | high county distress | Labor |
| 49 | — | Cleveland County | 73 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 50 | — | Cleburne County | 73 | high county distress | Labor |
| 51 | — | Conway County | 71 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 52 | — | Crawford County | 71 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 53 | — | Sebastian County | 71 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 54 | — | Sevier County | 71 | high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 55 | — | Polk County | 70 | high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 56 | — | Logan County | 69 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 57 | — | Carroll County | 69 | moderate-high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 58 | — | Marion County | 68 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 59 | — | Pope County | 66 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 60 | — | Baxter County | 66 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 61 | — | Independence County | 65 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 62 | — | Searcy County | 65 | moderate-high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 63 | — | Franklin County | 64 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 64 | — | Prairie County | 64 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 65 | — | Calhoun County | 61 | moderate-high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 66 | — | Yell County | 58 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 67 | — | Madison County | 56 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 68 | — | Boone County | 55 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 69 | — | Newton County | 55 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 70 | — | Grant County | 54 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 71 | — | Faulkner County | 52 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 72 | — | Lonoke County | 51 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 73 | — | Washington County | 41 | moderate-low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 74 | — | Saline County | 30 | low-moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 75 | — | Benton County | 14 | very 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, the domains are averaged, and that average is ranked against every U.S. county. So a county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than. National ranks are shown only for the 100 most and 100 least distressed counties, because ranks in between move between updates. Counties with identical composite scores share a rank, marked T- for tied.
Urban Institute data: Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it.