In Saline County, Arkansas, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Saline County, 16.7% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 88% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 69% of U.S. counties.
What drives Saline County's score
In Saline County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 72.3. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 17.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Saline 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.
Even so, Saline County is worse off than most counties on bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (338, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 72.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.5% · August 202551st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people338 · 202593rd percentile
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- 47.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.8% · August 202555th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.3% · August 202536th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score40.4% · second quarter of 202651st percentile
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- 28.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202630th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.0% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
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- 28.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.8% · 202420th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.4% · 202419th percentile
- People with a disability15.9% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- People without health insurance6.0% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$80,628 · 202419th percentile
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- 17.2 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 rent13.2% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.7% · fiscal year 202711th 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 Saline 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 Saline County, 18.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Saline County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Saline County had its largest rise, from 7.6% in 1969 to 11.4% in 1974.
In Saline County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 23.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Saline County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.3%; 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 Saline County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 3.9%
Biggest drop: 2023 to 2024, reaching 3.9%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Saline County, Arkansas.
How Saline County has changed
Saline County's population had its largest rise, from 90,961 in 2004 to 105,362 in 2009.
Saline County's population grew to about four times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 131,252, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 56,337. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Saline County, Arkansas.
The number of jobs located in Saline County had its largest rise in the last span, from 24,628 in 2020 to 28,549 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Saline County more than doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 28,549, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2000 to 2005, reaching 19,257. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Saline County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.6% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.5% | 2024 9.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,232 | 2024 $80,628 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Saline County's history
1959
A tornado in March 1959 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1982
A tornado in December 1982 did $25 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1988
A tornado in November 1988 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1997
A tornado in March 1997 did $25 million in property damage and killed 10 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 123,416, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Saline County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Saline County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Saline County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Saline County ranks 5th of the six; Hot Spring County is highest, at 35.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garland County, AR | 83 | 14.2% | 34.7% |
| Pulaski County, AR | 83 | 16.0% | 20.4% |
| Hot Spring County, AR | 81 | 15.4% | 35.9% |
| Perry County, AR | 79 | 14.8% | 31.1% |
| Grant County, AR | 54 | 13.5% | 25.2% |
| 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 Saline County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Saline County's poverty rate was 9.8% in 2024, 74th 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, Saline County ranks 74th of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Saline 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 Saline 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 Saline County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.