About one in three adults aged 25 to 54 in Hempstead County, Arkansas, is not working
In Hempstead County, 33.8% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 95% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 94% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hempstead County's score
In Hempstead County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 90.0. People with a credit card behind: 9.7%, August 2025, higher than in 94% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 82.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hempstead 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.
Hempstead County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 90.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.7% · August 202594th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.6% · August 202586th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score55.0% · second quarter of 202689th percentile
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- 82.7 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 line27.1% · 202486th percentile
- People with a disability24.0% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- People without health insurance8.3% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$48,739 · 202493rd percentile
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- 82.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202669th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working33.8% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 80.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector39.4% · August 202593rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people170.6 · 202567th percentile
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- 64.2 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 rent20.1% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.4% · fiscal year 202766th 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 Hempstead 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 Hempstead County, 18.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hempstead County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Hempstead County had its largest rise, from 23.5% in 2004 to 33.5% in 2009.
In Hempstead County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 35.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Hempstead County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Hempstead County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2023 low, from 12.4% in 2022 to 9.1% in 2023.
The share of households in Hempstead County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 9.1% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Hempstead County, Arkansas.
How Hempstead County has changed
Hempstead County's population had its largest rise, from 21,190 in 1974 to 23,154 in 1979.
Hempstead County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 23,536 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hempstead County, Arkansas.
The number of jobs located in Hempstead County rose most sharply from its first year (7,348 in 1990) to 8,996 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Hempstead County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 18% since
High on the chart: 9,413 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hempstead County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.8% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 21.0% | 2024 19.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,728 | 2024 $48,739 |
The table uses 4.3% for 2025; the score uses 4.6% 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 Hempstead County's history
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 32,770. The 2020 Census counted 20,065, 61% of the peak. Census Bureau
1982
A tornado in April 1982 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed five people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1982
A tornado in April 1982 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1982
A tornado in April 1982 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1987
A thunderstorm in June 1987 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1968
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hempstead County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hempstead County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Hempstead County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Hempstead County ranks 3rd of the seven; Nevada County is highest, at 42.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miller County, AR | 97 | 21.3% | 31.1% |
| Hempstead County, AR | 94 | 19.3% | 35.1% |
| Lafayette County, AR | 94 | 20.4% | 32.3% |
| Nevada County, AR | 91 | 21.4% | 42.1% |
| Howard County, AR | 90 | 18.5% | 31.0% |
| Pike County, AR | 84 | 18.4% | 36.2% |
| Little River County, AR | 76 | 16.3% | 34.7% |
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 Hempstead County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Hempstead 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, Hempstead County ranks 14th of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hempstead 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 Hempstead 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 Hempstead County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.