Arkansas County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 75 counties in Arkansas, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 64.0. 35counties are in Serious or Crisis.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
Arkansas Snapshot
75 Counties Scored
64.0 Mean Score
63.5 Median Score
85.8 Crittenden County Most Distressed
34.2 Benton County Least Distressed
4 Crisis 31 Serious 31 Elevated 8 Normal 1 Healthy
Zone Distribution Arkansas County Map
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Healthy Normal Elevated Serious Crisis
All 75 Arkansas counties colored by distress zone. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How Arkansas's 75 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Arkansas Counties
75 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Zone | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | Crittenden County | 85.8 | Crisis | Legal Distress |
| 2 | 15 | Phillips County | 85.5 | Crisis | Structural Poverty |
| 3 | 25 | Lee County | 83.7 | Crisis | Structural Poverty |
| 4 | 29 | St. Francis County | 83.3 | Crisis | Structural Poverty |
| 5 | 67 | Desha County | 79.8 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 6 | 78 | Miller County | 79.3 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 7 | 129 | Jefferson County | 77.0 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 8 | 133 | Mississippi County | 76.8 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 9 | 156 | Chicot County | 76.1 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 10 | 173 | Nevada County | 75.4 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 11 | 180 | Craighead County | 75.1 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 12 | 203 | Monroe County | 74.6 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 13 | 221 | Greene County | 74.1 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 14 | 237 | Ashley County | 73.7 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 15 | 261 | Poinsett County | 73.2 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 16 | 263 | Cross County | 73.2 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 17 | 272 | Jackson County | 72.8 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 18 | 285 | Drew County | 72.6 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 19 | 286 | Hempstead County | 72.6 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 20 | 295 | Bradley County | 72.4 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 21 | 297 | Clark County | 72.4 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 22 | 300 | Dallas County | 72.3 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 23 | 330 | Howard County | 71.6 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 24 | 349 | Woodruff County | 71.0 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 25 | 362 | Union County | 70.7 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 26 | 371 | Lawrence County | 70.5 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 27 | 392 | Pulaski County | 70.0 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 28 | 402 | Garland County | 69.7 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 29 | 403 | Little River County | 69.7 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 30 | 447 | Scott County | 68.7 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 31 | 473 | Lafayette County | 68.3 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 32 | 484 | Columbia County | 68.1 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 33 | 498 | Arkansas County | 67.9 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 34 | 509 | Johnson County | 67.7 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 35 | 561 | Ouachita County | 66.8 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 36 | 690 | Van Buren County | 64.3 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 37 | 744 | Cleveland County | 63.5 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 38 | 746 | White County | 63.5 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 39 | 767 | Clay County | 63.2 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 40 | 772 | Faulkner County | 63.0 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 41 | 776 | Sevier County | 62.9 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 42 | 817 | Randolph County | 62.3 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 43 | 825 | Hot Spring County | 62.0 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 44 | 838 | Sebastian County | 61.7 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 45 | 867 | Conway County | 61.3 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 46 | 922 | Crawford County | 60.5 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 47 | 928 | Pike County | 60.4 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 48 | 970 | Sharp County | 59.8 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 49 | 980 | Fulton County | 59.6 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 50 | 999 | Independence County | 59.3 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 51 | 1,006 | Izard County | 59.2 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 52 | 1,064 | Perry County | 58.2 | Elevated | Economic Vitality |
| 53 | 1,090 | Montgomery County | 57.8 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 54 | 1,195 | Lincoln County | 56.1 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 55 | 1,196 | Polk County | 56.1 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 56 | 1,197 | Lonoke County | 56.1 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 57 | 1,202 | Pope County | 56.0 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 58 | 1,244 | Logan County | 55.5 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 59 | 1,268 | Franklin County | 55.0 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 60 | 1,328 | Baxter County | 54.2 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 61 | 1,345 | Yell County | 53.9 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 62 | 1,348 | Washington County | 53.8 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 63 | 1,393 | Stone County | 53.1 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 64 | 1,402 | Carroll County | 53.0 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 65 | 1,448 | Boone County | 52.1 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 66 | 1,546 | Prairie County | 50.5 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 67 | 1,614 | Cleburne County | 49.4 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 68 | 1,622 | Grant County | 49.3 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 69 | 1,668 | Madison County | 48.6 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 70 | 1,744 | Marion County | 47.6 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 71 | 1,793 | Saline County | 46.8 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 72 | 1,844 | Calhoun County | 46.0 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 73 | 1,909 | Newton County | 44.7 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 74 | 1,968 | Searcy County | 43.8 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 75 | 2,515 | Benton County | 34.2 | Healthy | Legal Distress |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using PCA-weighted percentile-rank scoring across five statistically derived dimensions: Consumer Credit Distress, Housing Cost Burden, Structural Poverty, Economic Vitality, and Legal Distress. A score of 50 means the county falls at the national median. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.
Crisis (≥80) — Among the most distressed counties in the country
Serious (65–80) — More distressed than roughly 80% of counties
Elevated (50–65) — More distressed than roughly half of counties
Normal (35–50) — Near the national median
Healthy (<35) — Less distressed than most counties