About one in four people in Baxter County, Arkansas, has a disability
In Baxter County, 25.5% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 96% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 66% of U.S. counties.
What drives Baxter County's score
In Baxter County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 80.0. About one in three adults aged 25 to 54 (32.5%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a higher share than in 93% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 67.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Baxter 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.
Baxter County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a credit card behind (4.6%, August 2025) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (105, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.1 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202666th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working32.5% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
-
- 67.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.0% · 202456th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.9% · 202459th percentile
- People with a disability25.5% · 2020 to 202496th percentile
- People without health insurance7.0% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$55,893 · 202480th percentile
-
- 62.4 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 rent21.1% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.4% · fiscal year 202757th percentile
-
- 44.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.3% · August 202550th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people105 · 202538th percentile
-
- 44.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.6% · August 202533rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.0% · August 202547th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score40.3% · second quarter of 202650th percentile
-
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 Baxter 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 Baxter County, 31.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Baxter County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Baxter County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 39.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Baxter County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 39.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Baxter County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 13.0% in 2015 to 11.0% in 2016.
The share of households in Baxter County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 7.2% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Baxter County, Arkansas.
How Baxter County has changed
Baxter County's population tripled to 43,007, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 21,335. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Baxter County, Arkansas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Baxter County nearly doubled to 16,448, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 13,218. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Baxter County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.0% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.1% | 2024 14.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,428 | 2024 $55,893 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Baxter County's history
1873
Created by the 19th Arkansas General Assembly on March 24, 1873 from parts of Fulton, Izard, Marion, and Searcy counties. Wikipedia
1944
Norfork Dam built as WPA project during New Deal. Wikipedia
1968
A tornado in May 1968 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1985
A tornado in November 1985 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A tornado in February 2008 did $15.75 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 41,627, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2024
A tornado in May 2024 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1969
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Baxter County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Baxter County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Baxter County, in Arkansas and Missouri, four score higher. Of the group, Baxter County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Searcy County gets the largest, at 48.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Izard County, AR | 83 | 21.3% | 44.1% |
| Fulton County, AR | 74 | 16.3% | 47.3% |
| Stone County, AR | 74 | 17.7% | 45.5% |
| Marion County, AR | 68 | 16.4% | 41.9% |
| Baxter County, AR | 66 | 14.0% | 39.4% |
| Searcy County, AR | 65 | 21.0% | 48.8% |
| Ozark County, MO | 57 | 19.4% | 43.5% |
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 Baxter County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Baxter County's poverty rate was 14.0% in 2024, 63rd 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, Baxter County ranks 60th of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Baxter 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.
-
Legal Aid of Arkansas
Legal aid
-
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 Baxter 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 Baxter County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.