About two in five people with a credit file in Miller County, Arkansas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Miller County, 39.9% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 94% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 97% of U.S. counties.
What drives Miller County's score
In Miller County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 85.7. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 85.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Miller 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.
Miller County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 85.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line21.3% · 202490th percentile
- Children below the poverty line32.6% · 202494th percentile
- People with a disability20.3% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- People without health insurance11.5% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$53,529 · 202485th percentile
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- 85.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector39.9% · August 202594th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people205.1 · 202575th percentile
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- 83.8 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 rent24.2% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.1% · fiscal year 202783rd percentile
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- 81.8 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 working27.8% · 2020 to 202484th percentile
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- 80.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.3% · August 202577th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.1% · August 202575th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score54.1% · second quarter of 202688th 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 Miller 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 Miller County, 17.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Miller County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Miller County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 31.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Miller County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 31.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Miller County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise in the last span, from 14.0% in 2023 to 15.7% in 2024.
The share of households in Miller County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 15.7%
Low on the chart: 12.4% 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, Miller County, Arkansas.
How Miller County has changed
Miller County's population had its largest rise, from 35,138 in 1974 to 37,383 in 1979.
Miller County's population rose by about a quarter from 1969 to 2024, reaching 41,958
High on the chart: 43,284 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Miller County, Arkansas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Miller County fell 7% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 2015 and 2020
High on the chart: 13,696 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Miller County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.0% | 2025 4.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.7% | 2024 21.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,942 | 2024 $53,529 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Miller County's history
1820
April 1, 1820; recreated December 22, 1874, following abolishment in 1838. Wikipedia
1982
A tornado in December 1982 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1982
A tornado in December 1982 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
A thunderstorm in May 2000 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
Hail in March 2008 did $85 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 43,462. The 2020 Census counted 42,600, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1968
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Miller County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Miller County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Miller County, in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Miller County ranks 5th of the eight; Cass County is highest, at 38.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caddo Parish, LA | 98 | 22.1% | 25.8% |
| Miller County, AR | 97 | 21.3% | 31.1% |
| Hempstead County, AR | 94 | 19.3% | 35.1% |
| Lafayette County, AR | 94 | 20.4% | 32.3% |
| Cass County, TX | 86 | 16.5% | 38.3% |
| Bowie County, TX | 82 | 16.2% | 28.1% |
| Little River County, AR | 76 | 16.3% | 34.7% |
| 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 Miller County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Miller County's poverty rate was 21.3% in 2024, 14th 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, Miller County ranks 7th of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Miller 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 Miller 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 Miller County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.