About one in five people in Clark County, Arkansas, lives below the poverty line
In Clark County, 20.4% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 88% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 93% of U.S. counties.
What drives Clark County's score
In Clark County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 90.4. People with a car or retail loan behind: 11.0%, August 2025, higher than in 94% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 82.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Clark 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.
Clark County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 90.4 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.9% · August 202590th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.0% · August 202594th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score53.1% · second quarter of 202686th percentile
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- 82.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.2% · August 202577th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people267.9 · 202587th percentile
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- 78.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.4% · 202488th percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.9% · 202471st percentile
- People with a disability19.1% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- People without health insurance10.3% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$52,380 · 202487th percentile
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- 74.2 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 rent27.2% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.3% · fiscal year 202756th percentile
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- 68.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202670th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.5% · 2020 to 202466th 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 Clark 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 Clark County, 16.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Clark County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Clark County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 33.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Clark County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Clark County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 13.4% in 2011 to 15.7% in 2012.
The share of households in Clark County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Biggest drop: 2016 to 2017, reaching 13.3%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Clark County, Arkansas.
How Clark County has changed
Clark County's population had its largest rise, from 21,746 in 1974 to 23,631 in 1979.
Clark County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1979 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 23,631 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Clark County, Arkansas.
The number of jobs located in Clark County rose most sharply from its first year (7,262 in 1990) to 9,516 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Clark County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 16% since
High on the chart: 10,387 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Clark County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.4% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.7% | 2024 20.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,094 | 2024 $52,380 |
The table uses 4.7% for 2025; the score uses 4.6% 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 Clark County's history
1818
Formed December 15, 1818, the third county formed by Americans in Arkansas, together with Hempstead and Pulaski counties. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 25,632. The 2020 Census counted 21,446, 84% of the peak. Census Bureau
1990
A thunderstorm in July 1990 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1997
A tornado in March 1997 did $120 million in property damage and killed six people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1997
Lightning in July 1997 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
Lightning in August 1999 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Clark County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Clark County beside its neighbors
Clark County scores higher than all six counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Clark County ranks 6th of the seven; Dallas County is highest, at 42.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark County, AR | 93 | 20.4% | 33.7% |
| Nevada County, AR | 91 | 21.4% | 42.1% |
| Ouachita County, AR | 90 | 17.6% | 33.1% |
| Dallas County, AR | 89 | 19.3% | 42.7% |
| Pike County, AR | 84 | 18.4% | 36.2% |
| Hot Spring County, AR | 81 | 15.4% | 35.9% |
| Montgomery County, AR | 79 | 19.8% | 40.5% |
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 Clark County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Clark County's poverty rate was 20.4% in 2024, 19th 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, Clark County ranks 17th of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Clark 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 Clark County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.