About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Calhoun County, Arkansas, are not working
In Calhoun County, 31.0% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 91% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 61% of U.S. counties.
What drives Calhoun County's score
In Calhoun County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 87.0. Jobs come next, at 72.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Calhoun 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.
Calhoun County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a car or retail loan behind (1.3%, August 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (6.3%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 87.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.3% · August 202582nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people301.7 · 202591st percentile
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- 72.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202652nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working31.0% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
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- 57.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.6% · 202461st percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.4% · 202451st percentile
- People with a disability22.2% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
- People without health insurance4.8% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,117 · 202470th percentile
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- 39.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.2% · August 202528th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.3% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score51.6% · second quarter of 202683rd percentile
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- 32.5 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 rent6.3% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.6% · fiscal year 202759th 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 Calhoun 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 Calhoun County, 23.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Calhoun County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Calhoun County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 23.6% in 2004 to 31.0% in 2009.
In Calhoun County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 30.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Calhoun County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.5%; 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 Calhoun County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 8.0%
Biggest drop: 2017 to 2018, reaching 10.9%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Calhoun County, Arkansas.
How Calhoun County has changed
Calhoun County's population had its largest drop, from 5,421 in 2009 to 5,002 in 2014.
Calhoun County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 6,088 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Calhoun County, Arkansas.
The number of jobs located in Calhoun County had its largest drop, from 3,829 in 1990 to 2,844 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Calhoun County fell 10% from 1990 to 2025, with its low point on the chart in 2015
Low on the chart: 2,668 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Calhoun County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 11.5% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.2% | 2024 14.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,056 | 2024 $60,117 |
The table uses 4.4% for 2025; the score uses 4.0% 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 Calhoun County's history
1850
Formed on December 6, 1850. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 11,807. The 2020 Census counted 4,739, 40% of the peak. Census Bureau
1979
A tornado in April 1979 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A tornado in October 2009 did $1.75 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Calhoun County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Calhoun County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Calhoun County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Calhoun County ranks 4th of the six; Dallas County is highest, at 42.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bradley County, AR | 92 | 20.6% | 36.4% |
| Ouachita County, AR | 90 | 17.6% | 33.1% |
| Dallas County, AR | 89 | 19.3% | 42.7% |
| Union County, AR | 89 | 16.8% | 28.2% |
| Cleveland County, AR | 73 | 14.0% | 30.0% |
| Calhoun County, AR | 61 | 14.6% | 30.5% |
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 Calhoun County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Calhoun County's poverty rate was 14.6% in 2024, 58th 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, Calhoun County ranks 65th of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Calhoun 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 Calhoun 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 Calhoun County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.