About one in four people in Hot Spring County, Arkansas, has a disability
In Hot Spring County, 23.4% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 93% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 81% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hot Spring County's score
In Hot Spring County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 84.0. People with a credit card behind: 8.1%, August 2025, higher than in 85% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 82.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hot Spring 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.
Hot Spring County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (18.8%, fiscal year 2027) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (15.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 84.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.1% · August 202585th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.1% · August 202583rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score51.6% · second quarter of 202683rd percentile
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- 82.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.2% · August 202579th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people243.6 · 202584th percentile
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- 76.8 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 202666th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working28.7% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
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- 68.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.4% · 202467th percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.2% · 202461st percentile
- People with a disability23.4% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
- People without health insurance7.2% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,401 · 202474th percentile
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- 31.0 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 rent15.1% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.8% · fiscal year 202729th 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 Hot Spring 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 Hot Spring County, 20.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hot Spring County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Hot Spring County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 35.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Hot Spring County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Hot Spring County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 11.9% in 2013 to 14.5% in 2014.
The share of households in Hot Spring County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 10.8%
Biggest drop: 2022 to 2023, reaching 11.7%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Hot Spring County, Arkansas.
How Hot Spring County has changed
Hot Spring County's population rose by about half to 33,313, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 24,348. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hot Spring County, Arkansas.
The number of jobs located in Hot Spring County had its largest rise, from 6,915 in 1995 to 7,698 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Hot Spring County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and is down 10% since
High on the chart: 8,508 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hot Spring County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.8% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.5% | 2024 15.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,678 | 2024 $58,401 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Hot Spring County's history
1829
Established November 2, 1829, in the Arkansas Territory from a part of Clark County. Wikipedia
1941
During World War II, hundreds of Malvernites moved to the Los Angeles area to work in shipyards after residents wrote home about 88-cent/hour jobs. Wikipedia
1982
A tornado in December 1982 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1988
A tornado in November 1988 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
Lightning in April 1998 did $2.25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A thunderstorm in October 2014 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 33,040, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1982
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hot Spring County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hot Spring County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Hot Spring County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Hot Spring County ranks 3rd of the seven; Dallas County is highest, at 42.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark County, AR | 93 | 20.4% | 33.7% |
| Dallas County, AR | 89 | 19.3% | 42.7% |
| Garland County, AR | 83 | 14.2% | 34.7% |
| Hot Spring County, AR | 81 | 15.4% | 35.9% |
| Montgomery County, AR | 79 | 19.8% | 40.5% |
| 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 Hot Spring County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Hot Spring County's poverty rate was 15.4% in 2024, 55th 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, Hot Spring County ranks 40th of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hot Spring 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 Hot Spring 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 Hot Spring County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.