About one in three people with a credit file in Drew County, Arkansas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Drew County, 36.3% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 88% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 91% of U.S. counties.
What drives Drew County's score
In Drew County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 91.0. People with a credit card behind: 9.5%, August 2025, higher than in 93% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 88.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Drew 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.
Drew County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (19.8%, fiscal year 2027) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (18.0%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 91.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.5% · August 202593rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.3% · August 202592nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score53.4% · second quarter of 202686th percentile
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- 88.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector36.3% · August 202588th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people283.3 · 202589th percentile
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- 80.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202677th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.6% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
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- 76.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.8% · 202479th percentile
- Children below the poverty line24.3% · 202480th percentile
- People with a disability21.2% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
- People without health insurance8.3% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$55,221 · 202482nd percentile
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- 44.3 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 rent18.0% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.8% · fiscal year 202739th 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 Drew 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 Drew County, 18.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Drew County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Drew County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 31.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Drew County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Drew County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 12.4% in 2021 to 15.4% in 2022.
The share of households in Drew County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 16.4%
Low on the chart: 12.1% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Drew County, Arkansas.
How Drew County has changed
Drew County's population had its largest rise, from 16,489 in 1974 to 18,162 in 1979.
Drew County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 18,683 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Drew County, Arkansas.
The number of jobs located in Drew County rose most sharply from its first year (5,744 in 1990) to 7,428 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Drew County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and is down 15% since
High on the chart: 7,428 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Drew County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.8% | 2025 5.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.4% | 2024 17.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,481 | 2024 $55,221 |
The table uses 5.0% for 2025; the score uses 4.8% 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 Drew County's history
1846
Created on November 26, 1846 from parts of Arkansas and Bradley counties. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 21,960. The 2020 Census counted 17,350, 79% of the peak. Census Bureau
1980
A tornado in October 1980 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A thunderstorm in May 2009 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Drew County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Drew County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Drew County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Drew County ranks 6th of the seven; Chicot County is highest, at 41.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desha County, AR | 98 | 25.9% | 36.7% |
| Chicot County, AR | 97 | 27.9% | 41.3% |
| Ashley County, AR | 96 | 19.0% | 39.3% |
| Bradley County, AR | 92 | 20.6% | 36.4% |
| Drew County, AR | 91 | 17.8% | 31.4% |
| Lincoln County, AR | 86 | 25.8% | 32.8% |
| Cleveland County, AR | 73 | 14.0% | 30.0% |
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 Drew County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Drew County's poverty rate was 17.8% in 2024, 37th 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, Drew County ranks 21st of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Drew 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 Drew County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.