Little River County, Arkansas
Above the national median for credit card delinquency.
Main Findings
Little River County, Arkansas is more distressed than 76% of U.S. counties on the County Distress Index. The driver: 10% of credit card accounts are 60+ days past due — above the national median of 5%. Its highest-scoring domain is Delinquency and its lowest is Debt Burden (housing basis).
- 44th of 75 counties in Arkansas on the County Distress Index — 76 · high county distress, more distressed than 76% of U.S. counties.
- 10% of credit card accounts are 60+ days past due (U.S. median 5%). Credit card delinquency at the 95th percentile nationally. Source: Urban Institute Debt in America (2025).
- Debt in collections at 42% — national median 23%, ranked at the 95th percentile. Source: Urban Institute Debt in America (2025).
- Unemployment (average of monthly rates) at 4% — national median 4%, ranked at the 66th percentile. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS (monthly rates averaged, September 2025 to August 2026; no figures published for October 2025).
- Child poverty rate at 23% — national median 17%, ranked at the 77th percentile. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2024).
Unemployment is 4%, near the national median of 4%, while credit card delinquency runs at the 95th percentile. Jobs exist; wages don't close the gap.
Neighbors span three CDI score labels. The 27-point drop to Sevier County marks where the Arkansas distress corridor ends.
Little River County has a high county distress score. The score label gives the intensity; the rank gives the national position.
The CDI gives this county a high county distress label. The rank belongs beside the score because the two answer different questions: score intensity and national position. Its highest-scoring domain is Delinquency.
Reporter's Notes
Two data points in the indicator table worth a follow-up call.
According to U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024), Little River County's uninsured rate indicator is at the 9th percentile. American Default Research's CDI places every other indicator in the Safety Net & Buffer domain at or above the 64th percentile. The gap stands out against the other credit indicators. Worth a call to the source agency or a local subject-matter contact in Ashdown.
Indicator History
Period-correct raw indicators from the county-history panel. The CDI composite is excluded because it is a current cross-sectional score.
Unemployment rate
Poverty rate
Transfer income share
Subprime credit population
The Indicators Behind Little River County's CDI Score
Every number traces to a public source. Little River County's value shown alongside AR's median and the U.S. median. Full CSV available for download.
| Indicator | Little River | AR median | U.S. median | Pctile | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delinquency — domain score 90 · Rank 209 of 3,144 | |||||
| Auto loan delinquency Share of auto loan accounts 60+ days past due | 9% | 7% | 5% | 89th | Urban Institute Debt in America (2025) |
| Credit card delinquency Share of credit card accounts 60+ days past due | 10% | 8% | 5% | 95th | Urban Institute Debt in America (2025) |
| Subprime credit share Share of residents with a credit score below 660 | 35% | 31% | 23% | 87th | Equifax data retrieved via FRED (2025) |
| Default & Legal — domain score 79 · Rank 445 of 3,144 | |||||
| Debt in collections Share of residents with a credit file who have debt in collections | 42% | 32% | 23% | 95th | Urban Institute Debt in America (2025) |
| Bankruptcy filing rate Personal bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents | 161 | 214 | 126 | 63rd | Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, F-5A (2025) |
| Debt Burden (housing basis) — domain score 33 · Rank 2,319 of 3,144 | |||||
| Rent-to-income ratio Fair Market Rent (2BR) as share of median household income | 20% | 21% | 21% | 43rd | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents (FY2027); U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2024) |
| Severe rent burden (50%+) Share of renter households paying 50%+ of income on rent | 13% | 17% | 18% | 24th | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024) |
| Labor — domain score 64 · Rank 986 of 3,144 | |||||
| Adults 25-54 not working Share of adults aged 25 to 54 without a job, leaving out residents of prisons and other institutions (service members count as working) | 23% | 27% | 21% | 63rd | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024) |
| Unemployment (average of monthly rates) Share of labor force unemployed, averaged over the monthly rates published for September 2025 to August 2026 (no figures published for October 2025) | 4% | 5% | 4% | 66th | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS (monthly rates averaged, September 2025 to August 2026; no figures published for October 2025) |
| Safety Net & Buffer — domain score 61 · Rank 1,134 of 3,144 | |||||
| Child poverty rate Share of children under 18 below the federal poverty line | 23% | 24% | 17% | 77th | U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2024) |
| Disability rate Share of residents reporting a disability | 18% | 22% | 16% | 64th | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024) |
| Poverty rate Share of population below the federal poverty line | 16% | 18% | 13% | 72nd | U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2024) |
| Uninsured rate Share of residents without health insurance coverage | 4% | 8% | 8% | 9th | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024) |
Five-Domain Breakdown
The CDI is an equal-weight composite of five family-v1 distress domains. Each domain contributes 20% of the county score.
Methodology
The County Distress Index scores household financial distress from 0 to 100 for all 3,144 U.S. counties. A county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than. The index is built from five equal-weighted domains: Delinquency, Default & Legal, Debt Burden, Labor, and Safety Net & Buffer. Each domain is the mean of distress-oriented indicator percentiles; the five domains are averaged, and that average is ranked against every other county to give the score.
Data sources include the Urban Institute Debt in America (Equifax consumer credit panel), Equifax data retrieved via FRED (subprime credit share), U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Local Area Unemployment Statistics), Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (F-5A bankruptcy filings), and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents. Data vintages range from 2024 to 2027 depending on source; full indicator-level vintage detail is in the methodology document.
For Press & Research
Everything you need to cite Little River County data.
Draft wire copy 131-word AP-style article — use freely with attribution
ASHDOWN, Ark. — Little River County is more distressed than 76% of U.S. counties, according to the County Distress Index released this month by American Default Research.
Little River scores 76 out of 100, which means it is more distressed than 76% of U.S. counties; its score label is high county distress. Within Arkansas, Little River ranks 44th of 75 counties.
The index, which draws on 14 source indicators from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Urban Institute and federal court filings, identifies delinquency as the primary driver in Little River. 10% of credit card accounts are 60+ days past due — above the national median of 5%.
American Default Research founder Ross Kilburn is available for interview at press@americandefault.org.
Full methodology and county-by-county data are available at americandefault.org/methodology/cdi.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Little River County's CDI score, and what does it mean?
What drives Little River County's distress score?
How does Little River County compare to its neighbors?
How is the County Distress Index calculated?
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