About two in five people with a credit file in Cross County, Arkansas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Cross County, 37.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 89% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 85% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cross County's score
In Cross County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 90.3. People with a credit card behind: 9.3%, August 2025, higher than in 92% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 89.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cross 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.
Cross County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (13.3%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (20.0%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 90.3 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.3% · August 202592nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.9% · August 202588th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score55.4% · second quarter of 202690th percentile
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- 89.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector37.1% · August 202589th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people280.1 · 202588th percentile
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- 75.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.4% · 202481st percentile
- Children below the poverty line25.1% · 202482nd percentile
- People with a disability18.7% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- People without health insurance8.7% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,428 · 202483rd percentile
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- 66.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202659th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.0% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
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- 33.3 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 rent13.3% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.0% · fiscal year 202742nd 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 Cross 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 Cross County, 18.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cross County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Cross County had its largest rise, from 22.7% in 2004 to 29.0% in 2009.
In Cross County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 33.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Cross County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income tripled 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
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Cross County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 10.3%
Biggest drop: 2017 to 2018, reaching 13.7%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Cross County, Arkansas.
How Cross County has changed
Cross County's population had its largest drop, from 20,234 in 1984 to 19,321 in 1989.
Cross County's population fell by about a fifth to 16,194, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 20,932 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cross County, Arkansas.
The number of jobs located in Cross County had its largest rise, from 5,526 in 1990 to 6,166 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Cross County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 6,166 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cross County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.3% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.9% | 2024 18.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,075 | 2024 $54,428 |
The table uses 4.4% for 2025; the score uses 4.2% 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 Cross County's history
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 26,046. The 2020 Census counted 16,833, 65% of the peak. Census Bureau
1952
A tornado in March 1952 killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1978
A tornado in January 1978 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flood in May 2011 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A tornado in March 2023 did $150 million in property damage and killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cross County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cross County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Cross County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Cross County ranks 4th of the six; St. Francis County is highest, at 43.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crittenden County, AR | 99 | 22.5% | 31.3% |
| St. Francis County, AR | 99 | 30.6% | 43.7% |
| Jackson County, AR | 95 | 25.1% | 30.2% |
| Woodruff County, AR | 93 | 25.6% | 34.6% |
| Poinsett County, AR | 92 | 22.1% | 34.8% |
| Cross County, AR | 85 | 18.4% | 33.7% |
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 Cross County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Cross County's poverty rate was 18.4% in 2024, 33rd 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, Cross County ranks 32nd of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cross 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 Cross County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.