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

Counties in Arkansas by poverty rate

Lee County had the highest poverty rate of 75 counties in 2018, at 43%. Benton County had the lowest, at 8.6%. The median was 18.7% and the figure for Arkansas was 16.8%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest43Lee County
Lowest8.6Benton County
Median18.775 counties
Arkansas16.8History

Top 40 counties, 2018

CSVChart (SVG)

Lee CountyLee County: 43 %43St. Francis CountySt. Francis County: 35.6 %35.6Phillips CountyPhillips County: 35.4 %35.4Chicot CountyChicot County: 31.4 %31.4Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 27.5 %27.5Monroe CountyMonroe County: 26 %26Mississippi CountyMississippi County: 25.7 %25.7Jackson CountyJackson County: 25.6 %25.6Desha CountyDesha County: 24.3 %24.3Searcy CountySearcy County: 24.3 %24.3Poinsett CountyPoinsett County: 23.7 %23.7Woodruff CountyWoodruff County: 23.7 %23.7Ouachita CountyOuachita County: 23.3 %23.3Lafayette CountyLafayette County: 22.8 %22.8Columbia CountyColumbia County: 22.4 %22.4Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 22.2 %22.2Johnson CountyJohnson County: 22.2 %22.2Miller CountyMiller County: 21.9 %21.9Bradley CountyBradley County: 21.7 %21.7Dallas CountyDallas County: 21.3 %21.3Nevada CountyNevada County: 21.3 %21.3Clay CountyClay County: 20.7 %20.7Sharp CountySharp County: 20.7 %20.7Fulton CountyFulton County: 20.6 %20.6Hempstead CountyHempstead County: 20.6 %20.6Garland CountyGarland County: 20.4 %20.4Stone CountyStone County: 20.3 %20.3Scott CountyScott County: 20.2 %20.2Sevier CountySevier County: 20.1 %20.1Polk CountyPolk County: 20 %20Clark CountyClark County: 19.9 %19.9Ashley CountyAshley County: 19.6 %19.6Drew CountyDrew County: 19.5 %19.5Crittenden CountyCrittenden County: 19.2 %19.2Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 18.8 %18.8Hot Spring CountyHot Spring County: 18.7 %18.7Izard CountyIzard County: 18.7 %18.7Marion CountyMarion County: 18.7 %18.7Logan CountyLogan County: 18.6 %18.6Madison CountyMadison County: 18.4 %18.4
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2018 (%)Change on 2017
1Lee County43+5.7 pts
2St. Francis County35.6+1.9 pts
3Phillips County35.4-4.4 pts
4Chicot County31.4+1.3 pts
5Lincoln County27.5+4.1 pts
6Monroe County26-1.3 pts
7Mississippi County25.7+1.4 pts
8Jackson County25.6+3.4 pts
9Desha County24.3-4.7 pts
9Searcy County24.3+2.7 pts
11Poinsett County23.7+2.7 pts
11Woodruff County23.7-3.1 pts
13Ouachita County23.3+3.4 pts
14Lafayette County22.8-1.3 pts
15Columbia County22.4-3.1 pts
16Jefferson County22.2-1.3 pts
16Johnson County22.2+3.8 pts
18Miller County21.9+3.1 pts
19Bradley County21.7+0.8 pts
20Dallas County21.3+0.3 pts
20Nevada County21.3+1.8 pts
22Clay County20.7+2.6 pts
22Sharp County20.7-3.2 pts
24Fulton County20.60 pts
24Hempstead County20.6-3.6 pts
26Garland County20.4+4.5 pts
27Stone County20.3-0.9 pts
28Scott County20.2-0.4 pts
29Sevier County20.1+0.6 pts
30Polk County20-3.3 pts
31Clark County19.9-1.5 pts
32Ashley County19.6-0.2 pts
33Drew County19.5-0.8 pts
34Crittenden County19.2-1.9 pts
35Montgomery County18.8-2.3 pts
36Hot Spring County18.7+1.9 pts
36Izard County18.7-0.6 pts
36Marion County18.7+0.4 pts
39Logan County18.6-1.9 pts
40Madison County18.4+1.4 pts
41Franklin County18.3+0.3 pts
42Union County18.2+0.7 pts
43Cross County18-0.4 pts
44Arkansas County17.9-2 pts
44Conway County17.9+0.7 pts
44Craighead County17.9+3 pts
47Pike County17.8-0.7 pts
48Lawrence County17.7+0.8 pts
49Newton County17.4-2.4 pts
49Randolph County17.4-2 pts
51Howard County17.3-1.8 pts
52Pulaski County16.7+1.7 pts
53White County16.6+1.4 pts
54Greene County16.5+1.7 pts
55Van Buren County16.4-3.4 pts
56Yell County16.3-2.5 pts
57Carroll County16.1-0.3 pts
58Crawford County16-1.5 pts
58Little River County16-1 pts
58Pope County16-0.7 pts
61Prairie County15.8-0.3 pts
62Calhoun County15.7+0.5 pts
63Sebastian County15.6-3 pts
64Cleveland County15.5+1.2 pts
65Faulkner County15.4+2 pts
66Washington County15.2+1.4 pts
67Baxter County15.1+1.2 pts
68Boone County14.8-0.1 pts
69Perry County14.7-0.4 pts
70Cleburne County14.6-1 pts
71Independence County14.5-1.4 pts
72Grant County13.1+0.9 pts
73Lonoke County11.9+0.8 pts
74Saline County9.7+1.8 pts
75Benton County8.6-0.5 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/2018/2018-state-and-county/est18all.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?

Lee County, with 43% in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

Benton County, with 8.6% in 2018.

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