About one in four people in Monroe County, Arkansas, has a disability
In Monroe County, 24.5% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 95% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 96% of U.S. counties.
What drives Monroe County's score
In Monroe County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 95.0. Jobs come next, at 89.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Monroe 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.
Monroe County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (13.5%, 2020 to 2024) and people without health insurance (7.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind11.9% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind15.5% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score59.2% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 89.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202690th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working29.1% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
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- 85.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line22.8% · 202493rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line36.9% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability24.5% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance7.5% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$43,257 · 2024top 5%
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- 83.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector36.7% · August 202589th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people215 · 202578th percentile
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- 54.6 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 rent13.5% · 2020 to 202424th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.2% · fiscal year 202784th 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 Monroe 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 Monroe County, 23.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Monroe County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Monroe County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 41.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Monroe County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 41.9%; 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 Monroe County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 16.1%
Biggest drop: 2015 to 2016, reaching 25.3%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Monroe County, Arkansas.
How Monroe County has changed
Monroe County's population had its largest drop, from 15,841 in 1969 to 14,223 in 1974.
Monroe County's population fell by more than half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 6,415, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 1974 to 1979, reaching 14,174. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Monroe County, Arkansas.
The number of jobs located in Monroe County had its largest drop, from 2,973 in 2000 to 2,610 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Monroe County fell 42% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 3,109 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Monroe County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.6% | 2025 5.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 34.7% | 2024 22.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $14,847 | 2024 $43,257 |
The table uses 5.5% for 2025; the score uses 5.6% 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 Monroe County's history
1864
The city of Clarendon was burned to the ground by Union forces in 1864 in retaliation for the sinking of the tinclad Union gunboat USS Queen City. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 21,601. The 2020 Census counted 6,799, 31% of the peak. Census Bureau
1982
A tornado in April 1982 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1994
A tornado in July 1994 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flood in March 2008 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flood in May 2011 did $35 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1968
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Monroe County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Monroe County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Monroe County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Monroe County ranks 3rd of the seven; St. Francis County is highest, at 43.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phillips County, AR | 99 | 35.8% | 43.4% |
| St. Francis County, AR | 99 | 30.6% | 43.7% |
| Lee County, AR | 98 | 41.3% | 39.1% |
| Monroe County, AR | 96 | 22.8% | 41.9% |
| Arkansas County, AR | 95 | 20.0% | 26.4% |
| Woodruff County, AR | 93 | 25.6% | 34.6% |
| Prairie County, AR | 64 | 15.9% | 33.2% |
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 Monroe County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Monroe County's poverty rate was 22.8% in 2024, 9th 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, Monroe County ranks 10th of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Monroe 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 Monroe 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 Monroe County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.