About one in five people in Boone County, Arkansas, has a disability
In Boone County, 19.5% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 77% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 55% of U.S. counties.
What drives Boone County's score
In Boone County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 62.3. About one in four adults aged 25 to 54 (24.3%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a higher share than in 70% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 61.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Boone 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.
Boone County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (14.2%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (19.0%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 62.3 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202654th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.3% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
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- 61.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.1% · August 202574th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.5% · August 202540th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.4% · second quarter of 202668th percentile
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- 58.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.8% · 202438th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.7% · 202447th percentile
- People with a disability19.5% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
- People without health insurance8.2% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$57,376 · 202477th percentile
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- 55.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.6% · August 202566th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people116.8 · 202544th percentile
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- 29.8 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 rent14.2% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.0% · fiscal year 202731st 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 Boone 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 Boone County, 21.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Boone County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Boone County had its largest rise, from 23.9% in 2004 to 29.9% in 2009.
In Boone County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 32.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Boone County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Boone County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2019 to 2020, reaching 9.2%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Boone County, Arkansas.
How Boone County has changed
Boone County's population had its largest rise, from 21,635 in 1974 to 25,395 in 1979.
Boone County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 38,636, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 37,021. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Boone County, Arkansas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Boone County rose 16% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 14,342 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Boone County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.6% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.3% | 2024 11.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,128 | 2024 $57,376 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Boone County's history
1973
A tornado in April 1973 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1991
A tornado in March 1991 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flood in May 2011 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 37,373, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2024
A tornado in May 2024 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Boone County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Boone County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Boone County, in Arkansas and Missouri, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Boone County ranks 4th of the six; Searcy County is highest, at 48.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taney County, MO | 76 | 13.6% | 29.2% |
| Carroll County, AR | 69 | 16.4% | 30.4% |
| Marion County, AR | 68 | 16.4% | 41.9% |
| Searcy County, AR | 65 | 21.0% | 48.8% |
| Boone County, AR | 55 | 11.8% | 32.4% |
| Newton County, AR | 55 | 19.3% | 41.9% |
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 Boone County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Boone County's poverty rate was 11.8% in 2024, 72nd 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, Boone County ranks 68th of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Boone 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.
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 Boone County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.