About two in five people with a credit file in Union County, Arkansas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Union County, 37.1% 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 89% of U.S. counties.
What drives Union County's score
In Union County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 93.8. People with a car or retail loan behind: 11.4%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 90.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Union 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.
Union County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (5.6%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (19.7%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 93.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.4% · August 202593rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.4% · August 202595th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score57.0% · second quarter of 202692nd percentile
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- 90.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector37.1% · August 202589th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people304.8 · 202591st percentile
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- 71.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202682nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.3% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
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- 61.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.8% · 202474th percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.3% · 202469th percentile
- People with a disability17.4% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- People without health insurance5.6% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,585 · 202474th percentile
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- 52.7 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 rent20.9% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.7% · 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 Union 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 Union County, 19.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Union County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Union County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 28.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Union County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Union County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 16.0% in 2009 to 17.5% in 2010.
The share of households in Union County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2011 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 9.3% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Union County, Arkansas.
How Union County has changed
Union County's population had its largest rise, from 46,168 in 1974 to 50,062 in 1979.
Union County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1979 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 50,062 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Union County, Arkansas.
The number of jobs located in Union County had its largest drop, from 20,106 in 2005 to 17,190 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Union County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 21,499 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Union County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.9% | 2025 5.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.8% | 2024 16.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,262 | 2024 $58,585 |
The table uses 5.4% for 2025; the score uses 5.0% 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 Union County's history
1829
Formed November 2, 1829, from portions of Clark and Hempstead counties, named in recognition of citizens' petition for a new county which said they were petitioning in the spirit of Union and Unity. Wikipedia
1921
Oil well struck January 10, 1921, starting boom. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 55,800. The 2020 Census counted 39,054, 70% of the peak. Census Bureau
1930
Oil production fell markedly in early 1930s due to Great Depression. Wikipedia
1972
A tornado in March 1972 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1978
A tornado in December 1978 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1992
A tornado in March 1992 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
A tornado in January 2005 did $3 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1968
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Union County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Union County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Union County, in Arkansas and Louisiana, four score higher. Of the group, Union County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Ashley County gets the largest, at 39.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claiborne Parish, LA | 98 | 26.6% | 36.6% |
| Ashley County, AR | 96 | 19.0% | 39.3% |
| Bradley County, AR | 92 | 20.6% | 36.4% |
| Ouachita County, AR | 90 | 17.6% | 33.1% |
| Union County, AR | 89 | 16.8% | 28.2% |
| Columbia County, AR | 87 | 20.4% | 32.2% |
| Union Parish, LA | 86 | 20.3% | 36.0% |
| Calhoun County, AR | 61 | 14.6% | 30.5% |
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 Union County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Union County's poverty rate was 16.8% in 2024, 44th 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, Union County ranks 26th of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Union 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 Union County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.