About two in five people with a credit file in Chicot County, Arkansas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Chicot County, 43.8% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 97% of U.S. counties.
What drives Chicot County's score
In Chicot County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 94.6. People with a car or retail loan behind: 15.3%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 91.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Chicot 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.
Chicot County does better than most counties on one measure: renters paying half their income or more in rent (12.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 94.6 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.6% · August 202593rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind15.3% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score60.7% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 91.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector43.8% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people272.6 · 202587th percentile
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- 90.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line27.9% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line37.5% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability23.7% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
- People without health insurance10.9% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$41,816 · 2024top 5%
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- 87.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working26.6% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
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- 53.7 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 rent12.1% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income26.1% · fiscal year 202787th 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 Chicot 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 Chicot County, 22.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Chicot County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Chicot County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 15% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Chicot County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 41.3%; 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 Chicot County getting SNAP food aid fell by about half to 16.7%, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2009 to 2010, reaching 27.6%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Chicot County, Arkansas.
How Chicot County has changed
Chicot County's population had its largest drop, from 17,688 in 1984 to 15,985 in 1989.
Chicot County's population fell by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 9,272, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 18,237. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Chicot County, Arkansas.
The number of jobs located in Chicot County had its largest drop, from 4,470 in 2000 to 3,677 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Chicot County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 40% since
High on the chart: 4,470 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Chicot County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.4% | 2025 6.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 41.8% | 2024 27.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $13,229 | 2024 $41,816 |
The table uses 6.3% for 2025; the score uses 6.6% 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 Chicot County's history
1823
Formed October 25, 1823. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 27,452. The 2020 Census counted 10,208, 37% of the peak. Census Bureau
1979
A tornado in October 1979 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A thunderstorm in April 2007 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flash flood in September 2008 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A tornado in March 2016 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Chicot County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Chicot County beside its neighbors
Of the nine counties that border Chicot County, in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Chicot County ranks 4th of the 10; East Carroll Parish is highest, at 45.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Carroll Parish, LA | 99 | 44.4% | 45.3% |
| Washington County, MS | 99 | 29.4% | 36.1% |
| Bolivar County, MS | 99 | 30.0% | 37.0% |
| Desha County, AR | 98 | 25.9% | 36.7% |
| Morehouse Parish, LA | 98 | 28.5% | 43.7% |
| Chicot County, AR | 97 | 27.9% | 41.3% |
| Ashley County, AR | 96 | 19.0% | 39.3% |
| Drew County, AR | 91 | 17.8% | 31.4% |
| Issaquena County, MS | 84 | 55.7% | 31.9% |
| West Carroll Parish, LA | 81 | 19.1% | 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 Chicot County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Chicot County's poverty rate was 27.9% in 2024, 4th 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, Chicot County ranks 6th of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Chicot 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 Chicot 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 Chicot County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.