About two in five people in Lee County, Arkansas, live below the poverty line
In Lee County, 41.3% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 98% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lee County's score
In Lee County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 93.8. People with a car or retail loan behind: 12.5%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 93.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lee 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.
Lee County does better than most counties on one measure: people without health insurance (6.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 93.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.1% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind12.5% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score60.6% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 93.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202693rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working32.4% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
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- 83.4 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 rent21.9% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income28.5% · fiscal year 202794th percentile
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- 83.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line41.3% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line46.6% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability28.0% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance6.4% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$38,287 · 2024top 5%
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- 76.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector49.2% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people146.3 · 202558th 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 Lee 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 Lee County, 20.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lee County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Lee County had its largest rise, from 28.4% in 2004 to 38.6% in 2009.
In Lee County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 29% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Lee County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 39.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lee County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 27.1% in 2010 to 32.7% in 2011.
The share of households in Lee County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 24.6% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lee County, Arkansas.
How Lee County has changed
Lee County's population had its largest drop, from 19,126 in 1969 to 16,756 in 1974.
Lee County's population fell by more than half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 8,104, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 1994 to 1999, reaching 12,719. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lee County, Arkansas.
The number of jobs located in Lee County had its largest drop, from 2,653 in 2000 to 2,122 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Lee County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 41% since
High on the chart: 2,653 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lee County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 11.7% | 2025 6.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 50.5% | 2024 41.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $13,156 | 2024 $38,287 |
The table uses 6.2% for 2025; the score uses 6.1% 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 Lee County's history
1873
Established April 17, 1873 during the Reconstruction era. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 28,852. The 2020 Census counted 8,600, 30% of the peak. Census Bureau
1940
Post-1940 Great Migration: thousands of African Americans left Lee County and Arkansas to escape violence and oppression, moving to northern and western cities. Wikipedia
1978
A tornado in December 1978 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
A thunderstorm in July 2000 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lee County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lee County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Lee County, in Arkansas and Mississippi, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lee County ranks 4th of the six; St. Francis County is highest, at 43.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phillips County, AR | 99 | 35.8% | 43.4% |
| Crittenden County, AR | 99 | 22.5% | 31.3% |
| St. Francis County, AR | 99 | 30.6% | 43.7% |
| Tunica County, MS | 99 | 25.0% | 33.1% |
| Lee County, AR | 98 | 41.3% | 39.1% |
| Monroe County, AR | 96 | 22.8% | 41.9% |
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 Lee County the poorest county in Arkansas?
Yes, Lee County's poverty rate was 41.3% in 2024, the highest of 75 counties in Arkansas (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Lee County ranks 5th of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lee 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 Lee County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.