Arkansas County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 75 counties in Arkansas, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 65.5. 57counties are in the two most distressed fifths.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
Arkansas Snapshot
75 Counties Scored
65.5 Mean Score
66.9 Median Score
91.2 Phillips County Most Distressed
27.7 Benton County Least Distressed
36 Most distressed fifth21 Second-most distressed fifth14 Middle fifth3 Second-least distressed fifth1 Least distressed fifth
Quintile Distribution Arkansas County Map
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Least distressed fifth Second-least distressed fifth Middle fifth Second-most distressed fifth Most distressed fifth
All 75 Arkansas counties colored by distress fifth. 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 | Distress Fifth | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Phillips County | 91.2 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 2 | 18 | Crittenden County | 89.9 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 3 | 20 | Desha County | 89.2 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 4 | 27 | Lee County | 87.4 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 5 | 31 | St. Francis County | 86.3 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 6 | 34 | Chicot County | 85.9 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 7 | 56 | Jefferson County | 84.5 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 8 | 87 | Monroe County | 82.4 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 9 | 116 | Miller County | 81.0 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 10 | 139 | Ashley County | 80.0 | Most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 11 | 142 | Nevada County | 79.9 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 12 | 144 | Mississippi County | 79.8 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 13 | 190 | Bradley County | 78.1 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 14 | 194 | Dallas County | 77.9 | Most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 15 | 201 | Drew County | 77.5 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 16 | 226 | Arkansas County | 76.4 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 17 | 229 | Union County | 76.3 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 18 | 247 | Lafayette County | 75.7 | Most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 19 | 332 | Columbia County | 73.2 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 20 | 367 | Poinsett County | 72.4 | Most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 21 | 377 | Pulaski County | 72.2 | Most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 22 | 398 | Hempstead County | 71.5 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 23 | 401 | Jackson County | 71.4 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 24 | 402 | Greene County | 71.4 | Most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 25 | 419 | Howard County | 71.1 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 26 | 431 | Ouachita County | 70.8 | Most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 27 | 433 | Clark County | 70.7 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 28 | 438 | Cross County | 70.6 | Most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 29 | 476 | Woodruff County | 69.9 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 30 | 489 | Little River County | 69.7 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 31 | 496 | Garland County | 69.5 | Most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 32 | 547 | Johnson County | 68.4 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 33 | 550 | Van Buren County | 68.4 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 34 | 599 | Scott County | 67.6 | Most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 35 | 616 | Hot Spring County | 67.3 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 36 | 619 | Lawrence County | 67.3 | Most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 37 | 631 | Craighead County | 67.1 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 38 | 635 | Lincoln County | 66.9 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 39 | 668 | Izard County | 66.2 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 40 | 750 | Cleveland County | 64.7 | Second-most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 41 | 798 | Perry County | 64.0 | Second-most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 42 | 804 | Montgomery County | 63.8 | Second-most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 43 | 818 | Fulton County | 63.6 | Second-most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 44 | 843 | Clay County | 63.1 | Second-most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 45 | 845 | Sharp County | 63.1 | Second-most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 46 | 846 | Conway County | 63.0 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 47 | 891 | Polk County | 62.3 | Second-most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 48 | 897 | Stone County | 62.2 | Second-most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 49 | 935 | Pike County | 61.4 | Second-most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 50 | 1,030 | Sebastian County | 59.8 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 51 | 1,082 | White County | 59.1 | Second-most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 52 | 1,153 | Logan County | 57.9 | Second-most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 53 | 1,174 | Franklin County | 57.5 | Second-most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 54 | 1,187 | Crawford County | 57.3 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 55 | 1,211 | Randolph County | 56.9 | Second-most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 56 | 1,212 | Cleburne County | 56.9 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 57 | 1,225 | Marion County | 56.7 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 58 | 1,263 | Pope County | 56.0 | Middle fifth | Default & Legal |
| 59 | 1,301 | Prairie County | 55.3 | Middle fifth | Default & Legal |
| 60 | 1,332 | Faulkner County | 54.8 | Middle fifth | Default & Legal |
| 61 | 1,357 | Baxter County | 54.3 | Middle fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 62 | 1,416 | Sevier County | 53.4 | Middle fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 63 | 1,513 | Independence County | 51.5 | Middle fifth | Delinquency |
| 64 | 1,517 | Yell County | 51.5 | Middle fifth | Delinquency |
| 65 | 1,604 | Calhoun County | 49.9 | Middle fifth | Default & Legal |
| 66 | 1,623 | Madison County | 49.5 | Middle fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 67 | 1,630 | Newton County | 49.4 | Middle fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 68 | 1,678 | Lonoke County | 48.5 | Middle fifth | Default & Legal |
| 69 | 1,700 | Carroll County | 48.2 | Middle fifth | Delinquency |
| 70 | 1,715 | Boone County | 48.0 | Middle fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 71 | 1,853 | Washington County | 45.6 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 72 | 1,909 | Searcy County | 44.6 | Second-least distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 73 | 1,917 | Grant County | 44.5 | Second-least distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 74 | 2,123 | Saline County | 40.7 | Second-least distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 75 | 2,732 | Benton County | 27.7 | Least distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using five equal-weighted domains. Each domain averages its member indicators' county ranks, and the composite is the mean of those domain scores. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.
Most distressed fifth — 36 Arkansas counties
Second-most distressed fifth — 21 Arkansas counties
Middle fifth — 14 Arkansas counties
Second-least distressed fifth — 3 Arkansas counties
Least distressed fifth — 1 Arkansas county