About three in ten people with a credit file in Lonoke County, Arkansas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Lonoke County, 29.3% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 71% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 51% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lonoke County's score
In Lonoke County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 81.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 292.3 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 90% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 67.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lonoke 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.
Lonoke County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (17.9%, fiscal year 2027) and children below the poverty line (12.0%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.3% · August 202571st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people292.3 · 202590th percentile
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- 67.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.5% · August 202579th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.7% · August 202557th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score44.4% · second quarter of 202665th percentile
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- 46.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202637th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.6% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
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- 31.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.0% · 202422nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.0% · 202422nd percentile
- People with a disability15.7% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- People without health insurance6.2% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$75,131 · 202429th percentile
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- 29.8 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 rent16.3% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.9% · fiscal year 202720th 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 Lonoke 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 Lonoke County, 14.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lonoke County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Lonoke County had its largest rise, from 16.3% in 2004 to 20.3% in 2009.
In Lonoke County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 24.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Lonoke County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.7%; 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 Lonoke County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen to 7.1%
Biggest drop: 2022 to 2023, reaching 7.7%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lonoke County, Arkansas.
How Lonoke County has changed
Lonoke County's population had its largest rise, from 58,449 in 2004 to 67,481 in 2009.
Lonoke County's population tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 76,389, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 36,137. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lonoke County, Arkansas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Lonoke County doubled to 15,977, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 15,977. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lonoke County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.9% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.3% | 2024 10.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,291 | 2024 $75,131 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.6% 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 Lonoke County's history
1861
Brownsville was burned to the ground by Union forces after the retreat of Confederate forces westward to Little Rock during the American Civil War. Wikipedia
1918
Eberts Field was a U.S. Army airfield used by the United States Army for pilot training during World Wars I and II. Wikipedia
1952
A tornado in March 1952 killed nine people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1976
A tornado in March 1976 did $25 million in property damage and killed five people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1988
A tornado in November 1988 did $25 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1988
A tornado in November 1988 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 74,015, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1968
29 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lonoke County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lonoke County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Lonoke County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lonoke County ranks 5th of the seven; Jefferson County is highest, at 36.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County, AR | 95 | 22.3% | 36.8% |
| Arkansas County, AR | 95 | 20.0% | 26.4% |
| Pulaski County, AR | 83 | 16.0% | 20.4% |
| White County, AR | 80 | 17.4% | 29.3% |
| Prairie County, AR | 64 | 15.9% | 33.2% |
| Faulkner County, AR | 52 | 12.5% | 22.7% |
| Lonoke County, AR | 51 | 10.0% | 24.7% |
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 Lonoke County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Lonoke County's poverty rate was 10.0% in 2024, 73rd 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, Lonoke County ranks 72nd of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lonoke 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 Lonoke 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 Lonoke County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.