About two in five people with a credit file in Columbia County, Arkansas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Columbia County, 37.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 90% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 87% of U.S. counties.
What drives Columbia County's score
In Columbia County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 86.2. About three in five people (57.6%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 93% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 83.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Columbia 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.
Columbia County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (15.2%, 2020 to 2024) and people without health insurance (7.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 86.2 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.2% · August 202576th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.1% · August 202588th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score57.6% · second quarter of 202693rd percentile
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- 83.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector37.4% · August 202590th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people207.7 · 202576th percentile
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- 77.1 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 line26.3% · 202485th percentile
- People with a disability20.2% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- People without health insurance7.5% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,388 · 202483rd percentile
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- 74.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202678th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.1% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
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- 42.6 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 rent15.2% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.9% · fiscal year 202752nd 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 Columbia 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 Columbia County, 17.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Columbia County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Columbia County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 32.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Columbia County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.2%; 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 Columbia County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2015 to 2016, reaching 18.2%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Columbia County, Arkansas.
How Columbia County has changed
Columbia County's population fell most sharply after its 1984 high, from 26,961 in 1984 to 25,957 in 1989.
Columbia County's population fell 15% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 26,961 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Columbia County, Arkansas.
The number of jobs located in Columbia County fell most sharply after its 2000 high, from 10,067 in 2000 to 9,331 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Columbia County fell 17% from 1990 to 2020, then turned up in 2025
High on the chart: 10,067 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Columbia County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.4% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.1% | 2024 20.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,854 | 2024 $54,388 |
The table uses 4.8% for 2025; the score uses 4.9% 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 Columbia County's history
1852
Formed December 17, 1852. Wikipedia
1938
Magnolia Oil Field discovered. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 29,822. The 2020 Census counted 22,801, 76% of the peak. Census Bureau
1957
A tornado in December 1957 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1964
A tornado in March 1964 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1997
A flash flood in April 1997 did $11 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
A flash flood in October 2001 did $120 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
More than 5,000 barrels of oil leaked into bayou. Wikipedia
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Since 1973
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Columbia County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Columbia County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Columbia County, in Arkansas and Louisiana, score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Columbia County ranks 6th of the seven; Nevada County is highest, at 42.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claiborne Parish, LA | 98 | 26.6% | 36.6% |
| Webster Parish, LA | 98 | 20.7% | 33.6% |
| Lafayette County, AR | 94 | 20.4% | 32.3% |
| Nevada County, AR | 91 | 21.4% | 42.1% |
| Ouachita County, AR | 90 | 17.6% | 33.1% |
| Union County, AR | 89 | 16.8% | 28.2% |
| Columbia County, AR | 87 | 20.4% | 32.2% |
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 Columbia County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Columbia 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, Columbia County ranks 29th of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Columbia 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 Columbia 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 Columbia County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.