About one in three people with a credit file in Howard County, Arkansas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Howard County, 35.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 86% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 90% of U.S. counties.
What drives Howard County's score
In Howard County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 83.9. About one in two people (54.1%, Q2 2026) has a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 88% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 80.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Howard 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.
Howard County does better than most counties on one measure: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (119.7, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.9 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.6% · August 202580th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.0% · August 202583rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score54.1% · second quarter of 202688th percentile
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- 80.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.5% · 202481st percentile
- Children below the poverty line24.1% · 202479th percentile
- People with a disability20.3% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- People without health insurance9.9% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$50,330 · 202491st percentile
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- 78.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202685th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.5% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
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- 67.7 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 rent22.5% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.7% · fiscal year 202760th percentile
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- 66.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector35.4% · August 202586th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people119.7 · 202546th 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 Howard 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 Howard County, 18.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Howard County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Howard County had its largest rise, from 21.2% in 2004 to 31.9% in 2009.
In Howard County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 31.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Howard County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.0%; 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 Howard County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen to 9.8%
Biggest drop: 2020 to 2021, reaching 11.8%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Howard County, Arkansas.
How Howard County has changed
Howard County's population rose most sharply from its first year (11,380 in 1969) to 12,903 in 1974.
Howard County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 14% since
High on the chart: 14,371 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Howard County, Arkansas.
The number of jobs located in Howard County had its largest rise, from 7,294 in 1990 to 8,409 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Howard County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 8,474 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Howard County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.0% | 2025 4.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.2% | 2024 18.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,915 | 2024 $50,330 |
The table uses 4.9% for 2025; the score uses 5.2% 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 Howard County's history
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 18,565. The 2020 Census counted 12,785, 69% of the peak. Census Bureau
1952
A tornado in March 1952 killed seven people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1982
A tornado in April 1982 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A tornado in April 1984 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
EF2 tornado struck Nashville on May 10, 2015, killing two people. Wikipedia
2015
A tornado in May 2015 did $1.5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1968
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Howard County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Howard County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Howard County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Howard County ranks 5th of the six; Polk County is highest, at 37.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hempstead County, AR | 94 | 19.3% | 35.1% |
| 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% |
| Sevier County, AR | 71 | 15.6% | 25.9% |
| Polk County, AR | 70 | 17.7% | 37.2% |
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 Howard County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Howard County's poverty rate was 18.5% in 2024, 32nd 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, Howard County ranks 24th of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Howard 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 Howard 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 Howard County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.