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. 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 credit card behind: 14.1%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 95.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Phillips 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.
Phillips County does better than most counties on one measure: people without health insurance (7.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind14.1% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind16.9% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score64.3% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 95.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year7.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working41.6% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 89.7 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 rent24.8% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income28.0% · fiscal year 202793rd percentile
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- 86.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector49.9% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people213.9 · 202578th percentile
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- 85.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line35.8% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line54.0% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability24.9% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance7.6% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$38,969 · 2024top 5%
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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 Phillips 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 Phillips County, 20.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Phillips County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Phillips County had its largest rise, from 31.1% in 2004 to 39.2% in 2009.
In Phillips County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 43.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Phillips County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 43.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Phillips County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 30.5% in 2020 to 27.7% in 2021.
The share of households in Phillips County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2021, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 27.7% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Phillips County, Arkansas.
How Phillips County has changed
Phillips County's population had its largest drop, from 32,626 in 1984 to 29,254 in 1989.
Phillips County's population fell by more than half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 14,661, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 1989 to 1994, reaching 28,050. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Phillips County, Arkansas.
The number of jobs located in Phillips County had its largest drop, from 7,822 in 2000 to 6,641 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Phillips County fell by about half to 4,333, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 8,456 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Phillips County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 11.1% | 2025 7.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 46.5% | 2024 35.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $13,638 | 2024 $38,969 |
The table uses 7.1% for 2025; the score uses 7.5% 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 Phillips County's history
1897
Levee cut during 1897 major flood to sacrifice northern city to save central and lower sections. Wikipedia
1950
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
1978
A tornado in December 1978 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A tornado in July 2009 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1968
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Phillips County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
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% |
| Coahoma County, MS | 99 | 34.9% | 41.1% |
| Tunica County, MS | 99 | 25.0% | 33.1% |
| Bolivar County, MS | 99 | 30.0% | 37.0% |
| 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 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 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.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Phillips 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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Southern Bancorp Community Partners
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Phillips 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 Phillips County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.