Arkansas County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 75 counties in Arkansas, scored 0–100 across five domains. A county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than; the average Arkansas county scores 78.3. 54 counties score high, very high, or extreme.
Data: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Urban Institute, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts | Scores as of Aug 2026
Arkansas Snapshot
75 Counties Scored
78.3 Mean Score
82.3 Median Score
99 Phillips County Most Distressed
16 Benton County Least Distressed
24 extreme county distress17 very high county distress13 high county distress11 moderate-high county distress7 moderate county distress1 moderate-low county distress1 low-moderate county distress1 very low county distress
Score Label Distribution Arkansas County Map
Loading interactive map…
Low county distress Moderate-low county distress Moderate county distress High county distress Extreme county distress
All 75 Arkansas counties colored by county distress score range. 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 | Score Label | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Phillips County | 99 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 2 | 16 | Crittenden County | 99 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 3 | 23 | St. Francis County | 99 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 4 | 42 | Desha County | 98 | extreme county distress | Default & Legal |
| 5 | 54 | Lee County | 98 | extreme county distress | Labor |
| 6 | 78 | Chicot County | 97 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 7 | 79 | Miller County | 97 | extreme county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 8 | 81 | Mississippi County | 97 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 9 | — | Monroe County | 96 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 10 | — | Jefferson County | 95 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 11 | — | Ashley County | 95 | extreme county distress | Labor |
| 12 | — | Jackson County | 95 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 13 | — | Arkansas County | 95 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 14 | — | Hempstead County | 95 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 15 | — | Lafayette County | 94 | extreme county distress | Default & Legal |
| 16 | — | Clark County | 93 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 17 | — | Woodruff County | 93 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 18 | — | Poinsett County | 92 | extreme county distress | Default & Legal |
| 19 | — | Bradley County | 92 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 20 | — | Nevada County | 91 | extreme county distress | Labor |
| 21 | — | Drew County | 91 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 22 | — | Lawrence County | 90 | extreme county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 23 | — | Ouachita County | 90 | extreme county distress | Default & Legal |
| 24 | — | Howard County | 90 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 25 | — | Craighead County | 89 | very high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 26 | — | Scott County | 88 | very high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 27 | — | Union County | 88 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 28 | — | Dallas County | 88 | very high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 29 | — | Columbia County | 87 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 30 | — | Lincoln County | 86 | very high county distress | Labor |
| 31 | — | Greene County | 85 | very high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 32 | — | Cross County | 84 | very high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 33 | — | Johnson County | 84 | very high county distress | Labor |
| 34 | — | Pulaski County | 83 | very high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 35 | — | Pike County | 83 | very high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 36 | — | Izard County | 82 | very high county distress | Labor |
| 37 | — | Sharp County | 82 | very high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 38 | — | Garland County | 82 | very high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 39 | — | Van Buren County | 82 | very high county distress | Labor |
| 40 | — | White County | 81 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 41 | — | Hot Spring County | 81 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 42 | — | Perry County | 77 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 43 | — | Montgomery County | 77 | high county distress | Labor |
| 44 | — | Little River County | 76 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 45 | — | Clay County | 76 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 46 | — | Randolph County | 74 | high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 47 | — | Stone County | 74 | high county distress | Labor |
| 48 | — | Cleveland County | 73 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 49 | — | Cleburne County | 72 | high county distress | Labor |
| 50 | — | Fulton County | 72 | high county distress | Labor |
| 51 | — | Conway County | 71 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 52 | — | Sebastian County | 71 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 53 | — | Crawford County | 71 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 54 | — | Sevier County | 70 | high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 55 | — | Logan County | 68 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 56 | — | Polk County | 68 | moderate-high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 57 | — | Carroll County | 67 | moderate-high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 58 | — | Pope County | 66 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 59 | — | Franklin County | 65 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 60 | — | Independence County | 65 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 61 | — | Marion County | 63 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 62 | — | Baxter County | 63 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 63 | — | Searcy County | 62 | moderate-high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 64 | — | Prairie County | 61 | moderate-high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 65 | — | Calhoun County | 60 | moderate-high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 66 | — | Yell County | 58 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 67 | — | Madison County | 57 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 68 | — | Grant County | 55 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 69 | — | Boone County | 54 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 70 | — | Faulkner County | 54 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 71 | — | Newton County | 53 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 72 | — | Lonoke County | 52 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 73 | — | Washington County | 42 | moderate-low county distress | Delinquency |
| 74 | — | Saline County | 31 | low-moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 75 | — | Benton County | 16 | very low county distress | 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, the domains are averaged, and that average is ranked against every U.S. county. So a county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than. National ranks are shown only for the 100 most and 100 least distressed counties, because ranks in between move between updates. Counties with identical composite scores share a rank, marked T- for tied.
extreme county distress — 24 Arkansas counties
very high county distress — 17 Arkansas counties
high county distress — 13 Arkansas counties
moderate-high county distress — 11 Arkansas counties
moderate county distress — 7 Arkansas counties
moderate-low county distress — 1 Arkansas county
low-moderate county distress — 1 Arkansas county
low county distress — 0 Arkansas counties
very low county distress — 1 Arkansas county
exceptionally low county distress — 0 Arkansas counties