Benefit checks make up 36 cents of every dollar of income in Pike County, Arkansas
In Pike County, 36.2% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 85% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 84% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pike County's score
In Pike County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 81.6. The typical household earns $52,643 a year (2024), less than in 87% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 74.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pike 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.
Pike County does better than most counties on one measure: people with unpaid debt sent to a collector (23.2%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.4% · 202481st percentile
- Children below the poverty line26.2% · 202484th percentile
- People with a disability19.3% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
- People without health insurance11.9% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$52,643 · 202487th percentile
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- 74.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202669th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working26.4% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
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- 69.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.7% · August 202554th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.4% · August 202590th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score44.2% · second quarter of 202664th percentile
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- 66.4 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 rent23.9% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.7% · fiscal year 202750th percentile
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- 59.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.2% · August 202549th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people176.3 · 202568th 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 Pike 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 Pike County, 21.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pike County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Pike County had its largest rise, from 23.5% in 2004 to 31.1% in 2009.
In Pike County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 39% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Pike County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Pike County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 12.1% in 2012 to 15.0% in 2013.
The share of households in Pike County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 12.4%
Low on the chart: 10.2% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Pike County, Arkansas.
How Pike County has changed
Pike County's population rose most sharply from its first year (8,648 in 1969) to 9,672 in 1974.
Pike County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2009 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 11,260 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pike County, Arkansas.
The number of jobs located in Pike County had its largest rise, from 2,542 in 1990 to 2,901 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Pike County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 3,129 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pike County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.6% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.5% | 2024 18.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,832 | 2024 $52,643 |
The table uses 4.3% for 2025; the score uses 4.6% 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 Pike County's history
1833
November 1, 1833, created out of Clark and Hempstead counties. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 12,565. The 2020 Census counted 10,171, 81% of the peak. Census Bureau
1951
Lake Greeson dam completed July 12, 1951. Wikipedia
2011
A flood in May 2011 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A thunderstorm in March 2023 did $6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1968
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pike County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pike County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Pike County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Pike County ranks 3rd of the six; Nevada County is highest, at 42.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hempstead County, AR | 94 | 19.3% | 35.1% |
| Clark County, AR | 93 | 20.4% | 33.7% |
| Nevada County, AR | 91 | 21.4% | 42.1% |
| Howard County, AR | 90 | 18.5% | 31.0% |
| Pike County, AR | 84 | 18.4% | 36.2% |
| Montgomery County, AR | 79 | 19.8% | 40.5% |
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 Pike County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Pike County's poverty rate was 18.4% in 2024, 33rd 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, Pike County ranks 35th of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pike 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.
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 Pike County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.