About half people with a credit file in Phillips County, Arkansas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Phillips County, 49.9% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector (Urban Institute, Debt in America, August 2025). That is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Phillips County's score
In Phillips County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 95.0. People with a car or retail loan behind: 16.9%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 95.0.
The County Distress Index combines five things we measure for every county: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each gets a score from 0 to 100; the higher the score, the worse off the county is compared with others.
Phillips County does better than most counties on one measure: people without health insurance (7.6%, 2020 to 2024).
The five parts count equally; together they hold 14 measures. Under each part, a bar shows where Phillips County ranks among all 3,144 U.S. counties on that measure, as a percentile: the share of counties it is higher than. A longer bar means more trouble.
- 95.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, Q4 2025
- People with a car or retail loan behind16.9% · August 202595th percentile
- People with a credit card behind14.1% · August 202595th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score40.0% · Q4 202595th percentile
-
- 95.0 of 100
Jobs
Adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey; unemployment through Aug 2026
- Adults 25 to 54 not working41.6% · 2020 to 202495th percentile
- Unemployment rate, 12-month average7.5% · Sep 2025 to Aug 202695th percentile
-
- 89.7 of 100
Housing costs
HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027; renters, 2020–24 Census survey
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income28.0% · fiscal year 202793rd percentile
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent24.8% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
-
- 86.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector49.9% · August 202595th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people213.9 · 202578th percentile
-
- 85.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- Children below the poverty line54.0% · 202495th percentile
- People with a disability24.9% · 2020 to 202495th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$38,969 · 202495th percentile
- People below the poverty line35.8% · 202495th percentile
- People without health insurance7.6% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
-
Sources: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and U.S. Census Bureau income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; 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 Aug 2026.
Where the money in Phillips County comes from
The Bureau of Economic Analysis adds up all the income that reaches the people of a county and splits it three ways: pay from work, income from investments and rent, and benefit checks.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Phillips County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Phillips County in 2024, pay from work was 47 cents of every dollar of income. Income from investments and rentals was 10 cents. Benefit checks were 43 cents. Across the country, pay is 61 cents of the dollar and benefit checks are 18.
Benefit checks have grown from 15 cents of every dollar in 1969, but pay from work still brings in more.
In Phillips County, benefit checks rose from 15 to 43 cents of every dollar
Benefit checks and pay from work as shares of all personal income, Phillips County, Arkansas: 43.4% and 46.8% in 2024. Yearly, 1969–2024.
Use this chart Free to use with credit
The quote: In 2024, benefit checks made up 43.4% of all personal income in Phillips County, Arkansas (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAINC4).
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 Phillips County, 20.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally.
How Phillips County has changed
The number of people living in Phillips County fell by about six in 10 between 1969 and 2024, from 40,534 to 14,661. The number of jobs located there fell by about four in 10 from 1990 to 2024.
Unemployment fell from 11.1% in 1990 to 7.1% in 2025.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| People living in the countyBEA | 1969 40,534 | 2024 14,661 |
| Jobs located in the countyBLS QCEW | 1990 7,921 | 2024 4,531 |
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 11.1% | 2025 7.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 46.5% | 2024 35.8% |
| Median household income (not adjusted for prices)Census SAIPE | 1989 $13,638 | 2024 $38,969 |
| Share of income from benefit checksBEA | 1969 15.1% | 2024 43.4% |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices. We don't chart the distress score over time because it compares counties at one moment.
Dated events in Phillips County's history
Largest decennial census count
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 46,254. The 2020 Census counted 16,568, 36% of the peak. Census Bureau
1897
Levee cut during 1897 major flood to sacrifice northern city to save central and lower sections. Wikipedia
1978
Tornado: $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
Tornado: $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1968
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Phillips County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Storms are listed if they did $1 million or more in damage or killed someone.
Phillips County beside its neighbors
Phillips County scores higher than all seven counties that border it, in Arkansas and Mississippi. Of the group, Phillips County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (43.4%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phillips County, AR | 99 | 35.8% | 43.4% |
| Bolivar County, MS | 99 | 30.0% | 37.0% |
| Coahoma County, MS | 99 | 34.9% | 41.1% |
| Tunica County, MS | 99 | 25.0% | 33.1% |
| Desha County, AR | 98 | 25.9% | 36.7% |
| Lee County, AR | 98 | 41.3% | 39.1% |
| Monroe County, AR | 96 | 22.8% | 41.9% |
| Arkansas County, AR | 95 | 20.0% | 26.4% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Aug 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 Phillips County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Phillips County's poverty rate was 35.8% in 2024, 2nd 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, Phillips County ranks 1st of 75 in the state.
Phillips County in photographs
Places in Phillips County from Wikimedia Commons, each captioned in its photographer's own words.
Phillips County courthouse in Helena, Arkansas, United States.
Phillips County, Arkansas Sheriff's cruiser.
Photo: Thomas R Machnitzki (thomas@machnitzki.com) via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
Phillips County, Arkansas: common questions
What is the poverty rate in Phillips County, Arkansas?
35.8% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates: about one in three people. Among children it was 54.0%.
Is Phillips County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Phillips County's poverty rate was 35.8% in 2024, 2nd 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, Phillips County ranks 1st of 75 in the state.
What is the population of Phillips County, Arkansas?
About 14,661 people in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis's count. The 2020 Census counted 16,568, 36% of the county's peak of 46,254 in 1950.
How is the County Distress Index calculated?
We rank every U.S. county on 14 federal measures of money trouble, grouped into five equally weighted parts, and average them. The published score is the share of the other 3,143 counties with a lower average. The methodology lists every measure and its source.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Phillips County
A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-approved housing counselor works at a nonprofit agency approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The counseling to avoid foreclosure is free, and a counselor can help you talk to your mortgage company and understand what it offers, according to the Consumer Financial Protection BureauSourceCFPB.
-
Southern Bancorp Community Partners
HUD-approved housing counselor
-
Legal Aid of Arkansas
Legal aid
-
Center for Arkansas Legal Services
Legal aid
-
HUD-approved housing counselors
Counseling to avoid foreclosure is free. Our help directory lists 1,311 approved agencies 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 Phillips County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Aug 2026, built from HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. Our methodology
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Phillips County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.