About one in four adults aged 25 to 54 in Carroll County, Arkansas, is not working
In Carroll County, 27.0% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 81% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 69% of U.S. counties.
What drives Carroll County's score
In Carroll County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 74.8. The typical household earns $50,886 a year (2024), less than in 90% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 70.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Carroll 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.
Carroll County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (65.9, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (14.9%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 74.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.4% · 202472nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.8% · 202471st percentile
- People with a disability16.3% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- People without health insurance14.2% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$50,886 · 202490th percentile
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- 70.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.1% · August 202575th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.6% · August 202568th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.5% · second quarter of 202668th percentile
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- 68.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202655th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.0% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
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- 53.5 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 rent14.9% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.7% · fiscal year 202776th percentile
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- 38.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector25.6% · August 202558th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people65.9 · 202517th 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 Carroll 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 Carroll County, 23.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Carroll County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Carroll County had its largest rise, from 20.5% in 2004 to 29.7% in 2009.
In Carroll County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 30.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Carroll County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Carroll County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 13.4% in 2015 to 11.0% in 2016.
The share of households in Carroll County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 5.2%
Low on the chart: 4.9% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Carroll County, Arkansas.
How Carroll County has changed
Carroll County's population had its largest rise, from 18,376 in 1989 to 22,460 in 1994.
Carroll County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28,968, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2014 to 2019, reaching 28,269. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Carroll County, Arkansas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Carroll County rose by about half to 10,708, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 9,602. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Carroll County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.9% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.3% | 2024 16.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,128 | 2024 $50,886 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Carroll County's history
1833
Formed on November 1, 1833 as Arkansas's 26th county. Wikipedia
2002
A flash flood in May 2002 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A flash flood in March 2015 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A flash flood in April 2017 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 28,260, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2022
A flood in April 2022 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Carroll County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Carroll County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Carroll County, in Arkansas and Missouri, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Carroll County ranks 4th of the eight; Newton County is highest, at 41.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taney County, MO | 76 | 13.6% | 29.2% |
| Carroll County, AR | 69 | 16.4% | 30.4% |
| Madison County, AR | 56 | 12.9% | 27.1% |
| Barry County, MO | 55 | 15.7% | 29.7% |
| Boone County, AR | 55 | 11.8% | 32.4% |
| Newton County, AR | 55 | 19.3% | 41.9% |
| Stone County, MO | 52 | 14.1% | 30.7% |
| Benton County, AR | 14 | 8.4% | 7.6% |
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 Carroll County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Carroll County's poverty rate was 16.4% in 2024, 46th 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, Carroll County ranks 57th of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Carroll 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 Carroll 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 Carroll County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.