About two in five people with a credit file in Little River County, Arkansas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Little River County, 41.9% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 96% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 76% of U.S. counties.
What drives Little River County's score
In Little River County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 90.1. People with a credit card behind: 10.0%, August 2025, higher than in 94% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 79.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Little River 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.
Little River County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (4.0%, 2020 to 2024) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (13.3%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 90.1 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind10.0% · August 202594th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.2% · August 202589th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score52.8% · second quarter of 202686th percentile
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- 79.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector41.9% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people160.9 · 202563rd percentile
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- 64.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202666th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.8% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
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- 61.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.3% · 202472nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.4% · 202477th percentile
- People with a disability17.6% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- People without health insurance4.0% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,364 · 202483rd percentile
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- 33.3 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 rent13.3% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.1% · fiscal year 202742nd 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 Little River 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 Little River County, 21.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Little River County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Little River County had its largest rise, from 10.3% in 1969 to 15.8% in 1974.
In Little River County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 34.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Little River County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Little River County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 11.9% in 2014 to 18.2% in 2015.
The share of households in Little River County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 7.7% 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, Little River County, Arkansas.
How Little River County has changed
Little River County's population had its largest rise, from 12,268 in 1974 to 14,535 in 1979.
Little River County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1979 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 14,535 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Little River County, Arkansas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Little River County fell by about half to 3,041, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1990 to 1995, reaching 4,477. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Little River County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.5% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.6% | 2024 16.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,901 | 2024 $54,364 |
The table uses 4.2% for 2025; the score uses 4.5% 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 Little River County's history
1867
Formed March 5, 1867, from Sevier County during Reconstruction era; Arkansas's 59th county. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 16,301. The 2020 Census counted 12,026, 74% of the peak. Census Bureau
1966
The United States Army Corps of Engineers dammed the Little River and Saline River at their confluence in 1966, forming Millwood Lake. Wikipedia
1982
A tornado in April 1982 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
Lightning in March 2006 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A tornado in October 2014 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
A flood in June 2021 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Little River County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Little River County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Little River County, in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Little River County ranks 3rd of the seven; Hempstead County is highest, at 35.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miller County, AR | 97 | 21.3% | 31.1% |
| Hempstead County, AR | 94 | 19.3% | 35.1% |
| Howard County, AR | 90 | 18.5% | 31.0% |
| McCurtain County, OK | 85 | 21.2% | 35.1% |
| Bowie County, TX | 82 | 16.2% | 28.1% |
| Little River County, AR | 76 | 16.3% | 34.7% |
| Sevier County, AR | 71 | 15.6% | 25.9% |
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 Little River County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Little River County's poverty rate was 16.3% in 2024, 48th 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, Little River County ranks 45th of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Little River 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 Little River 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 Little River County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.