About two in five people with a credit file in Sevier County, Arkansas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Sevier County, 36.9% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 89% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 71% of U.S. counties.
What drives Sevier County's score
In Sevier County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 76.2. About one in seven people (14.9%, 2020 to 2024) has no health insurance, a higher share than in 88% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 69.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Sevier 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.
Sevier County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.5%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (96, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 76.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.6% · 202468th percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.9% · 202475th percentile
- People with a disability17.9% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- People without health insurance14.9% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$55,565 · 202481st percentile
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- 69.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.5% · August 202565th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.1% · August 202562nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score50.5% · second quarter of 202681st percentile
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- 61.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector36.9% · August 202589th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people96 · 202534th percentile
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- 57.4 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 202631st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.6% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
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- 47.5 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 rent19.3% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.6% · fiscal year 202738th 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 Sevier 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 Sevier County, 15.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Sevier County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Sevier County had its largest rise, from 21.5% in 2004 to 29.2% in 2009.
In Sevier County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 25.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Sevier County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.9%; 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 Sevier County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half to 21.5%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2019 to 2020, reaching 18.4%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Sevier County, Arkansas.
How Sevier County has changed
Sevier County's population rose most sharply from its first year (11,177 in 1969) to 12,892 in 1974.
Sevier County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and is down 8% since
High on the chart: 17,019 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Sevier County, Arkansas.
The number of jobs located in Sevier County had its largest drop, from 5,837 in 2010 to 4,757 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Sevier County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 17% since
High on the chart: 5,933 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Sevier County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.3% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.2% | 2024 15.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,894 | 2024 $55,565 |
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 Sevier County's history
1828
October 17, 1828, from Hempstead and Miller Counties. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 18,301. The 2020 Census counted 15,839, 87% of the peak. Census Bureau
1982
A tornado in April 1982 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
A thunderstorm in September 2000 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A tornado in April 2009 did $3.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1968
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Sevier County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Sevier County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Sevier County, in Arkansas and Oklahoma, three score higher. Of the group, Sevier County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Polk County gets the largest, at 37.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Howard County, AR | 90 | 18.5% | 31.0% |
| McCurtain County, OK | 85 | 21.2% | 35.1% |
| Little River County, AR | 76 | 16.3% | 34.7% |
| Sevier County, AR | 71 | 15.6% | 25.9% |
| Polk County, AR | 70 | 17.7% | 37.2% |
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 Sevier County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Sevier County's poverty rate was 15.6% in 2024, 54th 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, Sevier County ranks 54th of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Sevier 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 Sevier 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 Sevier County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.