Counties in Arkansas by unemployment rate, August 2026

Phillips County had the highest unemployment rate of 75 counties in August 2026, at 7.2%. Madison County had the lowest, at 2.8%. The median was 3.9% and the figure for Arkansas was 3.9%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest7.2Phillips County
Median3.975 counties
Arkansas3.9History

Top 40 counties, August 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Phillips CountyPhillips County: 7.2 %7.2Desha CountyDesha County: 6.6 %6.6Nevada CountyNevada County: 6 %6Chicot CountyChicot County: 5.8 %5.8Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 5.5 %5.5Izard CountyIzard County: 5.3 %5.3Lee CountyLee County: 5.2 %5.2Johnson CountyJohnson County: 5.1 %5.1Marion CountyMarion County: 5.1 %5.1St. Francis CountySt. Francis County: 5.1 %5.1Ashley CountyAshley County: 5 %5Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 5 %5Crittenden CountyCrittenden County: 4.9 %4.9Bradley CountyBradley County: 4.8 %4.8Howard CountyHoward County: 4.7 %4.7Monroe CountyMonroe County: 4.7 %4.7Pope CountyPope County: 4.7 %4.7Van Buren CountyVan Buren County: 4.7 %4.7Fulton CountyFulton County: 4.6 %4.6Union CountyUnion County: 4.6 %4.6Hempstead CountyHempstead County: 4.5 %4.5Lafayette CountyLafayette County: 4.5 %4.5Ouachita CountyOuachita County: 4.5 %4.5Columbia CountyColumbia County: 4.4 %4.4Newton CountyNewton County: 4.4 %4.4Stone CountyStone County: 4.4 %4.4Miller CountyMiller County: 4.3 %4.3Clark CountyClark County: 4.2 %4.2Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 4.2 %4.2Polk CountyPolk County: 4.2 %4.2Drew CountyDrew County: 4.1 %4.1Perry CountyPerry County: 4.1 %4.1Arkansas CountyArkansas County: 4 %4Cleveland CountyCleveland County: 4 %4Pike CountyPike County: 4 %4Pulaski CountyPulaski County: 4 %4Cleburne CountyCleburne County: 3.9 %3.9Dallas CountyDallas County: 3.9 %3.9Franklin CountyFranklin County: 3.9 %3.9Greene CountyGreene County: 3.9 %3.9
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesAugust 2026 (%)Change on August 2025
1Phillips County Provisional7.2-0.1 pts
2Desha County Provisional6.6-0.9 pts
3Nevada County Provisional6+0.4 pts
4Chicot County Provisional5.8-0.7 pts
5Jefferson County Provisional5.5-1 pts
6Izard County Provisional5.3-1.3 pts
7Lee County Provisional5.2-1.2 pts
8Johnson County Provisional5.1-0.6 pts
8Marion County Provisional5.1-1.2 pts
8St. Francis County Provisional5.1-1.1 pts
11Ashley County Provisional5-0.8 pts
11Lincoln County Provisional5-0.7 pts
13Crittenden County Provisional4.9-1 pts
14Bradley County Provisional4.8-1.3 pts
15Howard County Provisional4.7-0.8 pts
15Monroe County Provisional4.7-1 pts
15Pope County Provisional4.7-0.4 pts
15Van Buren County Provisional4.7-0.6 pts
19Fulton County Provisional4.6-1.1 pts
19Union County Provisional4.6-1 pts
21Hempstead County Provisional4.5-0.3 pts
21Lafayette County Provisional4.5-1.2 pts
21Ouachita County Provisional4.5-0.9 pts
24Columbia County Provisional4.4-0.9 pts
24Newton County Provisional4.4-0.4 pts
24Stone County Provisional4.4-1.6 pts
27Miller County Provisional4.3-1 pts
28Clark County Provisional4.2-1.1 pts
28Montgomery County Provisional4.2-0.9 pts
28Polk County Provisional4.2-0.3 pts
31Drew County Provisional4.1-1 pts
31Perry County Provisional4.1-0.8 pts
33Arkansas County Provisional4-0.6 pts
33Cleveland County Provisional4-0.9 pts
33Pike County Provisional4-0.4 pts
33Pulaski County Provisional4-0.5 pts
37Cleburne County Provisional3.9-1 pts
37Dallas County Provisional3.9-0.4 pts
37Franklin County Provisional3.9-0.6 pts
37Greene County Provisional3.9-0.8 pts
37Jackson County Provisional3.9-0.8 pts
37Little River County Provisional3.9-0.4 pts
37Logan County Provisional3.9-0.5 pts
37Mississippi County Provisional3.9-1.4 pts
37Sharp County Provisional3.9-1.1 pts
46Baxter County Provisional3.8-0.8 pts
46Clay County Provisional3.8-0.5 pts
46Cross County Provisional3.8-0.5 pts
46Hot Spring County Provisional3.8-0.9 pts
46Searcy County Provisional3.8-0.4 pts
46Yell County Provisional3.8-0.7 pts
52Boone County Provisional3.7-0.6 pts
52Calhoun County Provisional3.7-1 pts
52Lawrence County Provisional3.7-0.7 pts
52Poinsett County Provisional3.7-0.6 pts
56Conway County Provisional3.6-0.9 pts
56Crawford County Provisional3.6-0.9 pts
56Garland County Provisional3.6-0.7 pts
56Scott County Provisional3.6-0.4 pts
56Sebastian County Provisional3.6-0.6 pts
56White County Provisional3.6-0.6 pts
62Craighead County Provisional3.5-0.6 pts
62Prairie County Provisional3.5-0.6 pts
64Carroll County Provisional3.4-0.6 pts
65Faulkner County Provisional3.3-0.6 pts
66Lonoke County Provisional3.2-0.5 pts
66Randolph County Provisional3.2-0.9 pts
68Grant County Provisional3.1-0.6 pts
68Saline County Provisional3.1-0.4 pts
68Woodruff County Provisional3.1-0.5 pts
71Independence County Provisional3-0.9 pts
71Sevier County Provisional3-0.5 pts
73Benton County Provisional2.9-0.4 pts
73Washington County Provisional2.9-0.6 pts
75Madison County Provisional2.8-0.7 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force, using the survey definition of unemployment: without work, available and looking for work. Spain: EPA, aged 16 and over. EU: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74. United States: civilian labour force aged 16 and over, from the Current Population Survey for the nation and from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics models, consistent with that survey, for states and counties. Other countries and the World: ILO modelled estimates published by the World Bank, aged 15 and over.

Survey-based. Available for Spain, regions, provinces, EU countries, US states and US counties, not Spanish municipalities. For municipalities use registered_unemployment_rate. US national and state rates are seasonally adjusted; county rates are not. Countries without a national or Eurostat series get the annual ILO modelled estimate, a model output rather than a survey result.

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. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Questions

Which county has the highest unemployment rate?

Phillips County, with 7.2% in August 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Madison County, with 2.8% in August 2026.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Unemployment rate: other rankings

Counties in Arkansas: more rankings