About half people with a credit file in St. Francis County, Arkansas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In St. Francis County, 48.0% 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 St. Francis County's score
In St. Francis County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 95.5. About three in five people (60.9%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 97% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 91.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in St. Francis 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.
St. Francis County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.6 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.9% · August 202594th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.0% · August 202594th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score60.9% · second quarter of 202697th percentile
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- 91.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202690th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working31.2% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
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- 90.9 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 rent29.1% · 2020 to 202495th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.6% · fiscal year 202785th percentile
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- 88.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line30.6% · 202498th percentile
- Children below the poverty line40.4% · 202498th percentile
- People with a disability23.8% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- People without health insurance8.2% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$44,215 · 202497th percentile
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- 75.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector48.0% · August 202599th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people131.2 · 202552nd 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 St. Francis 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 St. Francis County, 17.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
St. Francis County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In St. Francis County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 43.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In St. Francis County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 43.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in St. Francis County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 24.2% in 2010 to 27.0% in 2011.
The share of households in St. Francis County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2011 and has since fallen to 24.3%
Low on the chart: 22.5% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, St. Francis County, Arkansas.
How St. Francis County has changed
St. Francis County's population fell 30% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2014 to 2019, reaching 23,440. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, St. Francis County, Arkansas.
The number of jobs located in St. Francis County had its largest rise, from 7,969 in 1990 to 9,590 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in St. Francis County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 9,590 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, St. Francis County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 11.7% | 2025 5.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 37.3% | 2024 30.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,030 | 2024 $44,215 |
The table uses 5.9% for 2025; the score uses 5.7% 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 St. Francis County's history
1827
October 13, 1827, by the Arkansas territorial legislature. Wikipedia
1950
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 36,841. The 2020 Census counted 23,090, 63% of the peak. Census Bureau
1974
A tornado in June 1974 did $25 million in property damage and killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1982
A tornado in April 1982 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A thunderstorm in April 2011 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A tornado in December 2013 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered St. Francis County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
St. Francis County beside its neighbors
St. Francis County scores higher than all five counties that border it. Of the group, St. Francis County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (43.7%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crittenden County, AR | 99 | 22.5% | 31.3% |
| St. Francis County, AR | 99 | 30.6% | 43.7% |
| Lee County, AR | 98 | 41.3% | 39.1% |
| Monroe County, AR | 96 | 22.8% | 41.9% |
| Woodruff County, AR | 93 | 25.6% | 34.6% |
| Cross County, AR | 85 | 18.4% | 33.7% |
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 St. Francis County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, St. Francis County's poverty rate was 30.6% in 2024, 3rd 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, St. Francis County ranks 3rd of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in St. Francis 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 St. Francis 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 St. Francis County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.