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 2019, at 35.4%. Benton County had the lowest, at 8.9%. The median was 17.7% and the figure for Arkansas was 16%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest35.4Lee County
Lowest8.9Benton County
Median17.775 counties
Arkansas16History

Top 40 counties, 2019

CSVChart (SVG)

Lee CountyLee County: 35.4 %35.4Phillips CountyPhillips County: 33.3 %33.3St. Francis CountySt. Francis County: 32 %32Chicot CountyChicot County: 31 %31Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 27.1 %27.1Woodruff CountyWoodruff County: 27.1 %27.1Lafayette CountyLafayette County: 25.5 %25.5Monroe CountyMonroe County: 25.5 %25.5Desha CountyDesha County: 25.4 %25.4Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 24.4 %24.4Nevada CountyNevada County: 24.1 %24.1Sharp CountySharp County: 23.3 %23.3Poinsett CountyPoinsett County: 23.1 %23.1Mississippi CountyMississippi County: 23 %23Bradley CountyBradley County: 22.9 %22.9Jackson CountyJackson County: 22.9 %22.9Crittenden CountyCrittenden County: 22.4 %22.4Searcy CountySearcy County: 22.4 %22.4Columbia CountyColumbia County: 21.2 %21.2Clark CountyClark County: 20.6 %20.6Hot Spring CountyHot Spring County: 20.2 %20.2Polk CountyPolk County: 20.2 %20.2Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 19.9 %19.9Van Buren CountyVan Buren County: 19.9 %19.9Scott CountyScott County: 19.6 %19.6Stone CountyStone County: 19.3 %19.3Union CountyUnion County: 18.9 %18.9Dallas CountyDallas County: 18.8 %18.8Clay CountyClay County: 18.7 %18.7Ashley CountyAshley County: 18.5 %18.5Drew CountyDrew County: 18.5 %18.5Hempstead CountyHempstead County: 18.5 %18.5Lawrence CountyLawrence County: 18.4 %18.4Crawford CountyCrawford County: 18.3 %18.3Newton CountyNewton County: 18.1 %18.1Cross CountyCross County: 17.8 %17.8Little River CountyLittle River County: 17.8 %17.8Fulton CountyFulton County: 17.7 %17.7Sevier CountySevier County: 17.7 %17.7Johnson CountyJohnson County: 17.5 %17.5
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2019 (%)Change on 2018
1Lee County35.4-7.6 pts
2Phillips County33.3-2.1 pts
3St. Francis County32-3.6 pts
4Chicot County31-0.4 pts
5Lincoln County27.1-0.4 pts
5Woodruff County27.1+3.4 pts
7Lafayette County25.5+2.7 pts
7Monroe County25.5-0.5 pts
9Desha County25.4+1.1 pts
10Jefferson County24.4+2.2 pts
11Nevada County24.1+2.8 pts
12Sharp County23.3+2.6 pts
13Poinsett County23.1-0.6 pts
14Mississippi County23-2.7 pts
15Bradley County22.9+1.2 pts
15Jackson County22.9-2.7 pts
17Crittenden County22.4+3.2 pts
17Searcy County22.4-1.9 pts
19Columbia County21.2-1.2 pts
20Clark County20.6+0.7 pts
21Hot Spring County20.2+1.5 pts
21Polk County20.2+0.2 pts
23Montgomery County19.9+1.1 pts
23Van Buren County19.9+3.5 pts
25Scott County19.6-0.6 pts
26Stone County19.3-1 pts
27Union County18.9+0.7 pts
28Dallas County18.8-2.5 pts
29Clay County18.7-2 pts
30Ashley County18.5-1.1 pts
30Drew County18.5-1 pts
30Hempstead County18.5-2.1 pts
33Lawrence County18.4+0.7 pts
34Crawford County18.3+2.3 pts
35Newton County18.1+0.7 pts
36Cross County17.8-0.2 pts
36Little River County17.8+1.8 pts
38Fulton County17.7-2.9 pts
38Sevier County17.7-2.4 pts
40Johnson County17.5-4.7 pts
41Logan County17.4-1.2 pts
42Ouachita County17.3-6 pts
42Randolph County17.3-0.1 pts
44Craighead County16.9-1 pts
44Garland County16.9-3.5 pts
44Pike County16.9-0.9 pts
44Pope County16.9+0.9 pts
48Howard County16.8-0.5 pts
49Perry County16.5+1.8 pts
50Madison County16.4-2 pts
51Marion County16.3-2.4 pts
52Franklin County16.2-2.1 pts
53Independence County15.9+1.4 pts
53Izard County15.9-2.8 pts
53Sebastian County15.9+0.3 pts
56Arkansas County15.8-2.1 pts
57Conway County15.6-2.3 pts
57Yell County15.6-0.7 pts
59Greene County15.5-1 pts
60Calhoun County15.4-0.3 pts
60White County15.4-1.2 pts
62Boone County15.1+0.3 pts
62Washington County15.1-0.1 pts
64Prairie County15-0.8 pts
65Carroll County14.7-1.4 pts
66Pulaski County14.6-2.1 pts
67Faulkner County14.4-1 pts
68Cleburne County14.1-0.5 pts
68Miller County14.1-7.8 pts
70Cleveland County13.7-1.8 pts
71Baxter County12.7-2.4 pts
72Grant County12.1-1 pts
73Lonoke County10.7-1.2 pts
74Saline County9.6-0.1 pts
75Benton County8.9+0.3 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/2019/2019-state-and-county/est19all.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 35.4% in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

Benton County, with 8.9% in 2019.

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