About one in three people with a credit file in Pulaski County, Arkansas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Pulaski County, 33.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 82% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 83% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pulaski County's score
In Pulaski County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 88.4. Bankruptcy filings ran at 365.2 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 94% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 82.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pulaski 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.
Pulaski County does better than most counties on one measure: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (20.2%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 88.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.1% · August 202582nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people365.2 · 202594th percentile
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- 82.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.7% · August 202581st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.0% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score48.2% · second quarter of 202675th percentile
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- 60.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.0% · 202470th percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.8% · 202467th percentile
- People with a disability16.0% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
- People without health insurance9.7% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,706 · 202450th percentile
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- 59.6 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 rent22.4% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.2% · fiscal year 202744th percentile
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- 56.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202660th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.0% · 2020 to 202451st 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 Pulaski 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 Pulaski County, 16.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pulaski County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Pulaski County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 20.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Pulaski County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Pulaski County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 12.7% in 2016 to 11.4% in 2017.
The share of households in Pulaski County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 10.0% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Pulaski County, Arkansas.
How Pulaski County has changed
Pulaski County's population had its largest rise, from 283,315 in 1969 to 318,661 in 1974.
Pulaski County's population rose 42% from 1969 to 2024, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2014 to 2019, reaching 397,964. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pulaski County, Arkansas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Pulaski County rose 30% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 228,228. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pulaski County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.4% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.5% | 2024 16.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,239 | 2024 $66,706 |
The table uses 4.2% for 2025; the score uses 4.3% 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 Pulaski County's history
1818
Arkansas's fifth county, formed December 15, 1818, alongside Clark and Hempstead Counties. Wikipedia
1997
A tornado in March 1997 did $50 million in property damage and killed five people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
Hail in June 2009 did $60 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $125 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 399,125, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2023
A tornado in March 2023 did $85.71 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1968
33 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pulaski County, 18 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pulaski County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Pulaski County, one scores higher. Of the group, Pulaski County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Jefferson County gets the largest, at 36.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County, AR | 95 | 22.3% | 36.8% |
| Pulaski County, AR | 83 | 16.0% | 20.4% |
| Perry County, AR | 79 | 14.8% | 31.1% |
| Grant County, AR | 54 | 13.5% | 25.2% |
| Faulkner County, AR | 52 | 12.5% | 22.7% |
| Lonoke County, AR | 51 | 10.0% | 24.7% |
| Saline County, AR | 30 | 9.8% | 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 Pulaski County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Pulaski County's poverty rate was 16.0% in 2024, 50th 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, Pulaski County ranks 39th of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pulaski 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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Community Resources Technicians, Inc.
HUD-approved housing counselor
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IN Affordable Housing, Incorporated
HUD-approved housing counselor
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NSC (NACA Counseling Subsidiary) - Little Rock, AR
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 Pulaski 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 Pulaski County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.