About one in five people in Arkansas County, Arkansas, lives below the poverty line
In Arkansas County, 20.0% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 87% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 95% of U.S. counties.
What drives Arkansas County's score
In Arkansas County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 90.5. People with a car or retail loan behind: 10.9%, August 2025, higher than in 94% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 88.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Arkansas County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Arkansas County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 90.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.8% · August 202594th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.9% · August 202594th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score51.3% · second quarter of 202682nd percentile
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- 88.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.3% · August 202582nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people417 · 2025top 5%
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- 81.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.0% · 202487th percentile
- Children below the poverty line28.1% · 202488th percentile
- People with a disability20.8% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- People without health insurance9.7% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,613 · 202483rd percentile
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- 79.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202676th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.1% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
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- 63.2 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent22.6% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.7% · fiscal year 202750th percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Arkansas County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Arkansas County, 20.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Arkansas County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Arkansas County had its largest rise, from 19.2% in 2004 to 26.3% in 2009.
In Arkansas County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 26.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Arkansas County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Arkansas County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 14.9% in 2014 to 18.2% in 2015.
The share of households in Arkansas County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 12.9% in 2012. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Arkansas County, Arkansas.
How Arkansas County has changed
Arkansas County's population had its largest drop, from 23,398 in 1984 to 21,705 in 1989.
Arkansas County's population fell by about a third to 16,050, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 24,126 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Arkansas County, Arkansas.
The number of jobs located in Arkansas County had its largest drop in the last span, from 10,162 in 2020 to 9,093 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Arkansas County was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 10,162 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Arkansas County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.7% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.0% | 2024 20.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,242 | 2024 $54,613 |
The table uses 4.7% for 2025; the score uses 4.8% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Arkansas County's history
1813
Created on December 31, 1813, by the Missouri Territorial Legislature. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 24,437. The 2020 Census counted 17,149, 70% of the peak. Census Bureau
1984
A thunderstorm in May 1984 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1994
A tornado in November 1994 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A tornado in May 2008 did $75 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A thunderstorm in April 2017 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Arkansas County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Arkansas County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Arkansas County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Arkansas County ranks 7th of the eight; Phillips County is highest, at 43.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phillips County, AR | 99 | 35.8% | 43.4% |
| Desha County, AR | 98 | 25.9% | 36.7% |
| Monroe County, AR | 96 | 22.8% | 41.9% |
| Jefferson County, AR | 95 | 22.3% | 36.8% |
| Arkansas County, AR | 95 | 20.0% | 26.4% |
| Lincoln County, AR | 86 | 25.8% | 32.8% |
| Prairie County, AR | 64 | 15.9% | 33.2% |
| Lonoke County, AR | 51 | 10.0% | 24.7% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Arkansas County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Arkansas County's poverty rate was 20.0% in 2024, 23rd highest of 75 in Arkansas (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Lee County, at 41.3%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Arkansas County ranks 12th of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Arkansas County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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Legal Aid of Arkansas
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Arkansas County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America 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.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Arkansas County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.