About three in ten people with a credit file in Yell County, Arkansas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Yell County, 29.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 70% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 58% of U.S. counties.
What drives Yell County's score
In Yell County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 71.0. The typical household earns $54,318 a year (2024), less than in 84% 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 Yell 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.
Yell County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (5.7%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (94.8, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 71.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.9% · 202470th percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.1% · 202476th percentile
- People with a disability16.8% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- People without health insurance10.2% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,318 · 202484th 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 behind8.0% · August 202584th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.5% · August 202554th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.9% · second quarter of 202669th percentile
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- 60.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202656th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.2% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
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- 52.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.0% · August 202570th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people94.8 · 202533rd percentile
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- 23.8 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 rent5.7% · 2020 to 20244th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.1% · fiscal year 202743rd 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 Yell 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 Yell County, 17.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Yell County
Arkansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Yell County had its largest rise, from 23.5% in 2004 to 31.7% in 2009.
In Yell County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 30.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Yell County, Arkansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Yell County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 13.4% in 2012 to 15.6% in 2013.
The share of households in Yell County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 10.2%
Biggest drop: 2015 to 2016, reaching 13.1%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Yell County, Arkansas.
How Yell County has changed
Yell County's population rose most sharply from its first year (14,023 in 1969) to 16,702 in 1974.
Yell County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2009 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 22,145 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Yell County, Arkansas.
The number of jobs located in Yell County had its largest drop, from 7,257 in 2005 to 6,244 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Yell County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 12% since
High on the chart: 7,257 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Yell County, Arkansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.4% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.1% | 2024 15.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,151 | 2024 $54,318 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 4.2% 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 Yell County's history
1840
December 5, 1840, from Scott and Pope Counties. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 26,323. The 2020 Census counted 20,263, 77% of the peak. Census Bureau
1976
A tornado in March 1976 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flood in March 2008 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flood in April 2008 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
Lightning in October 2014 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Yell County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Yell County beside its neighbors
All seven counties that border Yell County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Yell County ranks 6th of the eight; Montgomery County is highest, at 40.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scott County, AR | 88 | 20.3% | 33.6% |
| Garland County, AR | 83 | 14.2% | 34.7% |
| Montgomery County, AR | 79 | 19.8% | 40.5% |
| Perry County, AR | 79 | 14.8% | 31.1% |
| Conway County, AR | 71 | 14.3% | 29.8% |
| Logan County, AR | 69 | 15.4% | 39.4% |
| Pope County, AR | 66 | 16.9% | 28.5% |
| Yell County, AR | 58 | 15.9% | 30.7% |
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 Yell County the poorest county in Arkansas?
No, Yell County's poverty rate was 15.9% in 2024, 51st 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, Yell County ranks 66th of 75 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Yell 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 Yell County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.