About one in four people with a credit file in Faulkner County, Arkansas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Faulkner County, 26.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 61% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 52% of U.S. counties.
What drives Faulkner County's score
In Faulkner County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 73.5. Bankruptcy filings ran at 247.8 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 84% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 66.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Faulkner 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.
Faulkner County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (18.5%, fiscal year 2027) and median household income ($72,916, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 73.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector26.4% · August 202561st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people247.8 · 202584th percentile
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- 66.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.9% · August 202571st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.7% · August 202569th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.7% · second quarter of 202658th percentile
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- 41.5 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 rent19.3% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.5% · fiscal year 202726th percentile
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- 39.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202640th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.7% · 2020 to 202437th percentile
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- 37.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.5% · 202444th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.1% · 202434th percentile
- People with a disability14.4% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- People without health insurance7.1% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,916 · 202433rd 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 Faulkner 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 Faulkner County, 13.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Faulkner County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Faulkner County had its largest rise, from 14.2% in 1999 to 17.3% in 2004.
In Faulkner County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 22.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Faulkner County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Faulkner County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.9% in 2009 to 9.4% in 2010.
The share of households in Faulkner County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 7.1%
Biggest drop: 2018 to 2019, reaching 9.3%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Faulkner County, Arkansas.
How Faulkner County has changed
Faulkner County's population had its largest rise, from 96,162 in 2004 to 110,813 in 2009.
Faulkner County's population grew to about four times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 131,611, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2014 to 2019, reaching 122,866. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Faulkner County, Arkansas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Faulkner County more than doubled to 45,993, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 33,872. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Faulkner County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.3% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.0% | 2024 12.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,952 | 2024 $72,916 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Faulkner County's history
1873
Created on April 12, 1873 as one of nine counties formed during Reconstruction. Wikipedia
1965
A tornado in April 1965 did $25 million in property damage and killed six people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1982
A tornado in April 1982 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $52 million in property damage and killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A tornado in April 2014 did $210 million in property damage and killed 12 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 123,498, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1968
28 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Faulkner County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Faulkner County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Faulkner County, six score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Faulkner County ranks 7th of the eight; Van Buren County is highest, at 44.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Van Buren County, AR | 84 | 16.7% | 44.2% |
| Pulaski County, AR | 83 | 16.0% | 20.4% |
| White County, AR | 80 | 17.4% | 29.3% |
| Perry County, AR | 79 | 14.8% | 31.1% |
| Cleburne County, AR | 73 | 13.4% | 34.1% |
| Conway County, AR | 71 | 14.3% | 29.8% |
| Faulkner County, AR | 52 | 12.5% | 22.7% |
| Lonoke County, AR | 51 | 10.0% | 24.7% |
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 Faulkner County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Faulkner County's poverty rate was 12.5% in 2024, 71st 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, Faulkner County ranks 71st of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Faulkner 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 Faulkner 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 Faulkner County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.