About one in five people in Grant County, Arkansas, has a disability
In Grant County, 19.1% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 74% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 54% of U.S. counties.
What drives Grant County's score
In Grant County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 68.4. Bankruptcy filings ran at 293.7 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 90% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 65.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Grant 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.
Grant County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (18.7%, fiscal year 2027) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (14.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 68.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.2% · August 202546th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people293.7 · 202590th percentile
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- 65.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.8% · August 202594th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.9% · August 202546th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score41.9% · second quarter of 202655th percentile
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- 55.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.5% · 202452nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.3% · 202435th percentile
- People with a disability19.1% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- People without health insurance6.6% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,363 · 202475th percentile
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- 46.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202631st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.4% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
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- 28.8 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 rent14.6% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.7% · fiscal year 202728th 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 Grant 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 Grant County, 18.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Grant County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Grant County had its largest rise, from 18.0% in 2004 to 23.8% in 2009.
In Grant County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 25.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Grant County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.2%; 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 Grant County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2021 and has since fallen to 7.2%
Biggest drop: 2021 to 2022, reaching 9.6%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Grant County, Arkansas.
How Grant County has changed
Grant County's population doubled to 18,546, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 11,848. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Grant County, Arkansas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Grant County rose 38% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 4,601. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Grant County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.1% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.2% | 2024 13.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,298 | 2024 $58,363 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Grant County's history
1869
Established February 4, 1869. Wikipedia
1934
Missionary Baptist College was forced to close due to financial circumstances resulting from the Great Depression. Wikipedia
2008
A tornado in May 2008 did $3.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A tornado in May 2008 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A tornado in May 2013 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 17,958, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1968
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Grant County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Grant County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Grant County, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Grant County ranks 5th of the seven; Dallas County is highest, at 42.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County, AR | 95 | 22.3% | 36.8% |
| Dallas County, AR | 89 | 19.3% | 42.7% |
| Pulaski County, AR | 83 | 16.0% | 20.4% |
| Hot Spring County, AR | 81 | 15.4% | 35.9% |
| Cleveland County, AR | 73 | 14.0% | 30.0% |
| Grant County, AR | 54 | 13.5% | 25.2% |
| Saline County, AR | 30 | 9.8% | 23.3% |
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 Grant County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Grant County's poverty rate was 13.5% in 2024, 66th 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, Grant County ranks 70th of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Grant 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 Grant County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.