About one in three people in Dallas County, Arkansas, has a disability
In Dallas County, 31.9% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 89% of U.S. counties.
What drives Dallas County's score
In Dallas County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 94.4. People with a credit card behind: 10.7%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 89.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Dallas 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.
Dallas County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (3.9%, 2020 to 2024) and adults 25 to 54 not working (15.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 94.4 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind10.7% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind13.2% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score57.3% · second quarter of 202693rd percentile
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- 89.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector41.8% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people242.5 · 202584th percentile
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- 73.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.3% · 202485th percentile
- Children below the poverty line28.3% · 202489th percentile
- People with a disability31.9% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance3.9% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$49,043 · 202492nd percentile
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- 72.6 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 rent23.6% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.2% · fiscal year 202764th percentile
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- 41.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202663rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.7% · 2020 to 202419th 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 Dallas 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 Dallas County, 25.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Dallas County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Dallas County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 42.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Dallas County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 42.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Dallas County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply after its 2011 low, from 12.4% in 2011 to 15.2% in 2012.
The share of households in Dallas County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 12.4% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Dallas County, Arkansas.
How Dallas County has changed
Dallas County's population had its largest drop, from 7,543 in 2014 to 6,616 in 2019.
Dallas County's population fell 40% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 10,625 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Dallas County, Arkansas.
The number of jobs located in Dallas County had its largest drop, from 3,134 in 2010 to 2,770 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Dallas County fell by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 2,657
High on the chart: 3,501 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Dallas County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.4% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.5% | 2024 19.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,898 | 2024 $49,043 |
The table uses 4.2% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 Dallas County's history
1845
Formed on January 1, 1845. Wikipedia
1892
Fordyce Lumber Co. (formed February 1892), Crossett Lumber Co. (begun 1899). Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 14,671. The 2020 Census counted 6,482, 44% of the peak. Census Bureau
1990
A tornado in March 1990 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A flood in December 2009 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
A tornado in January 2012 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Dallas County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Dallas County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Dallas County, two score higher. Of the group, Dallas County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (42.7%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark County, AR | 93 | 20.4% | 33.7% |
| Ouachita County, AR | 90 | 17.6% | 33.1% |
| Dallas County, AR | 89 | 19.3% | 42.7% |
| Hot Spring County, AR | 81 | 15.4% | 35.9% |
| Cleveland County, AR | 73 | 14.0% | 30.0% |
| Calhoun County, AR | 61 | 14.6% | 30.5% |
| Grant County, AR | 54 | 13.5% | 25.2% |
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 Dallas County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Dallas County's poverty rate was 19.3% in 2024, 26th 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, Dallas County ranks 25th of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Dallas 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 Dallas 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 Dallas County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.