About one in four people in Woodruff County, Arkansas, lives below the poverty line
In Woodruff County, 25.6% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 96% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 93% of U.S. counties.
What drives Woodruff County's score
In Woodruff County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 91.1. People with a car or retail loan behind: 11.3%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 86.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Woodruff 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.
Woodruff County does better than most counties on one measure: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 91.1 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.9% · August 202583rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.3% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score59.7% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 86.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector39.1% · August 202592nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people218 · 202579th percentile
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- 84.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line25.6% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line34.8% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability19.2% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- People without health insurance9.2% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$46,571 · 2024top 5%
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- 71.5 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 rent21.3% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.4% · fiscal year 202774th percentile
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- 61.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202641st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working26.9% · 2020 to 202481st 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 Woodruff 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 Woodruff County, 24.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Woodruff County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Woodruff County had its largest rise, from 30.1% in 2004 to 38.0% in 2009.
In Woodruff County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 34.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Woodruff County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Woodruff County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 27.2% in 2019 to 23.9% in 2020.
The share of households in Woodruff County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 19.3% 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, Woodruff County, Arkansas.
How Woodruff County has changed
Woodruff County's population fell by about half to 5,808, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 10,337. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Woodruff County, Arkansas.
The number of jobs located in Woodruff County had its largest drop, from 2,524 in 2000 to 2,106 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Woodruff County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 2,696 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Woodruff County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.4% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 32.6% | 2024 25.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,171 | 2024 $46,571 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Woodruff County's history
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 22,682. The 2020 Census counted 6,269, 28% of the peak. Census Bureau
1952
A tornado in March 1952 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed 29 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1982
A tornado in December 1982 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1995
A tornado in November 1995 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flood in March 2008 did $3.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
28 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Woodruff County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Woodruff County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Woodruff County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Woodruff County ranks 3rd of the seven; St. Francis County is highest, at 43.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Francis County, AR | 99 | 30.6% | 43.7% |
| Monroe County, AR | 96 | 22.8% | 41.9% |
| Jackson County, AR | 95 | 25.1% | 30.2% |
| Woodruff County, AR | 93 | 25.6% | 34.6% |
| Cross County, AR | 85 | 18.4% | 33.7% |
| White County, AR | 80 | 17.4% | 29.3% |
| Prairie County, AR | 64 | 15.9% | 33.2% |
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 Woodruff County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Woodruff County's poverty rate was 25.6% in 2024, 7th 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, Woodruff County ranks 16th of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Woodruff 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 Woodruff 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 Woodruff County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.