Data / Rankings / Poverty rate (US official measure) / Counties in Arkansas

Counties in Arkansas by poverty rate

Phillips County had the highest poverty rate of 75 counties in 2017, at 39.8%. Saline County had the lowest, at 7.9%. The median was 19.1% and the figure for Arkansas was 16.3%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest39.8Phillips County
Lowest7.9Saline County
Median19.175 counties
Arkansas16.3History

Top 40 counties, 2017

CSVChart (SVG)

Phillips CountyPhillips County: 39.8 %39.8Lee CountyLee County: 37.3 %37.3St. Francis CountySt. Francis County: 33.7 %33.7Chicot CountyChicot County: 30.1 %30.1Desha CountyDesha County: 29 %29Monroe CountyMonroe County: 27.3 %27.3Woodruff CountyWoodruff County: 26.8 %26.8Columbia CountyColumbia County: 25.5 %25.5Mississippi CountyMississippi County: 24.3 %24.3Hempstead CountyHempstead County: 24.2 %24.2Lafayette CountyLafayette County: 24.1 %24.1Sharp CountySharp County: 23.9 %23.9Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 23.5 %23.5Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 23.4 %23.4Polk CountyPolk County: 23.3 %23.3Jackson CountyJackson County: 22.2 %22.2Searcy CountySearcy County: 21.6 %21.6Clark CountyClark County: 21.4 %21.4Stone CountyStone County: 21.2 %21.2Crittenden CountyCrittenden County: 21.1 %21.1Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 21.1 %21.1Dallas CountyDallas County: 21 %21Poinsett CountyPoinsett County: 21 %21Bradley CountyBradley County: 20.9 %20.9Fulton CountyFulton County: 20.6 %20.6Scott CountyScott County: 20.6 %20.6Logan CountyLogan County: 20.5 %20.5Drew CountyDrew County: 20.3 %20.3Arkansas CountyArkansas County: 19.9 %19.9Ouachita CountyOuachita County: 19.9 %19.9Ashley CountyAshley County: 19.8 %19.8Newton CountyNewton County: 19.8 %19.8Van Buren CountyVan Buren County: 19.8 %19.8Nevada CountyNevada County: 19.5 %19.5Sevier CountySevier County: 19.5 %19.5Randolph CountyRandolph County: 19.4 %19.4Izard CountyIzard County: 19.3 %19.3Howard CountyHoward County: 19.1 %19.1Miller CountyMiller County: 18.8 %18.8Yell CountyYell County: 18.8 %18.8
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2017 (%)Change on 2016
1Phillips County39.8+7.5 pts
2Lee County37.3+1.4 pts
3St. Francis County33.7+2.1 pts
4Chicot County30.10 pts
5Desha County29+2.5 pts
6Monroe County27.3+0.3 pts
7Woodruff County26.8+0.5 pts
8Columbia County25.5+1.3 pts
9Mississippi County24.3-0.3 pts
10Hempstead County24.2+3.5 pts
11Lafayette County24.1-3.3 pts
12Sharp County23.9+2.6 pts
13Jefferson County23.5+0.2 pts
14Lincoln County23.4-4.2 pts
15Polk County23.3-0.1 pts
16Jackson County22.2-1.9 pts
17Searcy County21.6-1.5 pts
18Clark County21.4-0.9 pts
19Stone County21.2-0.6 pts
20Crittenden County21.1-4.4 pts
20Montgomery County21.1-1.3 pts
22Dallas County21+0.2 pts
22Poinsett County21-1.7 pts
24Bradley County20.9-2.6 pts
25Fulton County20.6-2.6 pts
25Scott County20.6+0.9 pts
27Logan County20.5+2.3 pts
28Drew County20.3+1.1 pts
29Arkansas County19.9+1.8 pts
29Ouachita County19.9-4.8 pts
31Ashley County19.8+1.9 pts
31Newton County19.8-0.1 pts
31Van Buren County19.8+3.1 pts
34Nevada County19.5-0.9 pts
34Sevier County19.5-1.3 pts
36Randolph County19.4+0.5 pts
37Izard County19.3-0.8 pts
38Howard County19.1+0.4 pts
39Miller County18.8-3.6 pts
39Yell County18.8+0.8 pts
41Sebastian County18.6+1.7 pts
42Pike County18.5+0.3 pts
43Cross County18.4-1 pts
43Johnson County18.40 pts
45Marion County18.3-2.4 pts
46Clay County18.1-1 pts
47Franklin County18+0.1 pts
48Crawford County17.5+0.7 pts
48Union County17.5-1.8 pts
50Conway County17.2-1.7 pts
51Little River County17-0.5 pts
51Madison County17-1.3 pts
53Lawrence County16.9-3.1 pts
54Hot Spring County16.8+2.1 pts
55Pope County16.7-0.8 pts
56Carroll County16.4-0.8 pts
57Prairie County16.1-1.7 pts
58Garland County15.9-1.9 pts
58Independence County15.90 pts
60Cleburne County15.6-0.7 pts
61Calhoun County15.2-1.9 pts
61White County15.2-0.5 pts
63Perry County15.1-1.8 pts
64Pulaski County15-2.2 pts
65Boone County14.9-0.5 pts
65Craighead County14.9-1.3 pts
67Greene County14.8-0.5 pts
68Cleveland County14.3-1.5 pts
69Baxter County13.9+1.2 pts
70Washington County13.8-2 pts
71Faulkner County13.4-2.6 pts
72Grant County12.2+0.7 pts
73Lonoke County11.1-1.3 pts
74Benton County9.10 pts
75Saline County7.9-0.8 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

People living in families or alone with income below the official US poverty thresholds, as a percentage of people whose poverty status can be determined. United States: Census Bureau Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE), all ages.

Absolute thresholds set by the US government, so not comparable with the EU at_risk_of_poverty_rate.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): percent of people of all ages in poverty, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/saipe/datasets/2017/2017-state-and-county/est17all.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in Arkansas by poverty rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"poverty_rate","level":"province","within":"Arkansas","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=poverty_rate&level=province&within=Arkansas&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest poverty rate?

Phillips County, with 39.8% in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

Saline County, with 7.9% in 2017.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): percent of people of all ages in poverty, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Poverty rate (US official measure): other rankings

Counties in Arkansas: more rankings