About two in five adults aged 25 to 54 in Lafayette County, Arkansas, are not working
In Lafayette County, 37.2% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 94% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lafayette County's score
In Lafayette County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 95.0. About two in five people with a credit file (41.8%, August 2025) have unpaid debt sent to a collector, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 93.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lafayette 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.
Lafayette County does better than most counties on one measure: renters paying half their income or more in rent (5.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector41.8% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people377.4 · 2025top 5%
-
- 93.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.4% · August 202592nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.3% · August 202592nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score60.7% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
-
- 87.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202679th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working37.2% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
-
- 85.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.4% · 202488th percentile
- Children below the poverty line29.3% · 202490th percentile
- People with a disability24.2% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- People without health insurance8.8% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$47,835 · 202494th percentile
-
- 37.5 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 rent5.1% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.8% · fiscal year 202769th percentile
-
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 Lafayette 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 Lafayette County, 25.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lafayette County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Lafayette County had its largest rise, from 25.6% in 2004 to 36.0% in 2009.
In Lafayette County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 32.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Lafayette County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lafayette County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 23.0% in 2017 to 19.2% in 2018.
The share of households in Lafayette County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 14.9%
Low on the chart: 13.7% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lafayette County, Arkansas.
How Lafayette County has changed
Lafayette County's population had its largest drop, from 9,833 in 1989 to 9,127 in 1994.
Lafayette County's population fell 41% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 10,296 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lafayette County, Arkansas.
The number of jobs located in Lafayette County had its largest drop, from 1,886 in 2000 to 1,611 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Lafayette County fell by about half from 1990 to 2025, reaching 1,047, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 1995 to 2000, reaching 1,886. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lafayette County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.5% | 2025 5.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 31.1% | 2024 20.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,513 | 2024 $47,835 |
The table uses 5.6% for 2025; the score uses 4.9% 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 Lafayette County's history
1827
Formed October 15, 1827. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 16,934. The 2020 Census counted 6,308, 37% of the peak. Census Bureau
2000
A tornado in April 2000 did $1.2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A flood in October 2009 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1990
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lafayette County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lafayette County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Lafayette County, in Arkansas and Louisiana, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lafayette County ranks 4th of the seven; Nevada County is highest, at 42.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webster Parish, LA | 98 | 20.7% | 33.6% |
| 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% |
| Columbia County, AR | 87 | 20.4% | 32.2% |
| Bossier Parish, LA | 73 | 16.5% | 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 Lafayette County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Lafayette County's poverty rate was 20.4% in 2024, 19th 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, Lafayette County ranks 15th of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lafayette 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.
-
Legal Aid of Arkansas
Legal aid
-
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 Lafayette 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 Lafayette County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.