Counties in Arkansas by unemployment rate

Phillips County had the highest unemployment rate of 75 counties in December 2025, at 7.4%. Benton County had the lowest, at 3.1%. The median was 4.7% and the figure for Arkansas was 4.3%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest7.4Phillips County
Lowest3.1Benton County
Median4.775 counties
Arkansas4.3History

Top 40 counties, December 2025

CSVChart (SVG)

Phillips CountyPhillips County: 7.4 %7.4Chicot CountyChicot County: 6.9 %6.9Desha CountyDesha County: 6.7 %6.7Izard CountyIzard County: 6.6 %6.6Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 6.5 %6.5Lee CountyLee County: 6.5 %6.5Marion CountyMarion County: 6.4 %6.4Monroe CountyMonroe County: 6.2 %6.2Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 6.2 %6.2St. Francis CountySt. Francis County: 6.2 %6.2Stone CountyStone County: 6.1 %6.1Ashley CountyAshley County: 6 %6Bradley CountyBradley County: 6 %6Nevada CountyNevada County: 6 %6Crittenden CountyCrittenden County: 5.7 %5.7Johnson CountyJohnson County: 5.6 %5.6Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 5.6 %5.6Howard CountyHoward County: 5.4 %5.4Fulton CountyFulton County: 5.3 %5.3Lafayette CountyLafayette County: 5.3 %5.3Union CountyUnion County: 5.2 %5.2Drew CountyDrew County: 5.1 %5.1Ouachita CountyOuachita County: 5.1 %5.1Van Buren CountyVan Buren County: 5.1 %5.1Arkansas CountyArkansas County: 5 %5Cleburne CountyCleburne County: 5 %5Greene CountyGreene County: 5 %5Miller CountyMiller County: 5 %5Mississippi CountyMississippi County: 5 %5Pope CountyPope County: 5 %5Clay CountyClay County: 4.9 %4.9Newton CountyNewton County: 4.9 %4.9Jackson CountyJackson County: 4.8 %4.8Little River CountyLittle River County: 4.8 %4.8Pike CountyPike County: 4.8 %4.8Sharp CountySharp County: 4.8 %4.8Columbia CountyColumbia County: 4.7 %4.7Hempstead CountyHempstead County: 4.7 %4.7Logan CountyLogan County: 4.7 %4.7Polk CountyPolk County: 4.7 %4.7
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesDecember 2025 (%)Change on December 2024
1Phillips County7.4+1.3 pts
2Chicot County6.9+0.8 pts
3Desha County6.7+0.2 pts
4Izard County6.6-0.2 pts
5Jefferson County6.5+1.6 pts
5Lee County6.5+1.2 pts
7Marion County6.4+1.3 pts
8Monroe County6.2+1.6 pts
8Montgomery County6.2+1.4 pts
8St. Francis County6.2+0.9 pts
11Stone County6.1+1 pts
12Ashley County60 pts
12Bradley County6+0.6 pts
12Nevada County6+1.1 pts
15Crittenden County5.7+1.1 pts
16Johnson County5.6+0.9 pts
16Lincoln County5.6+0.3 pts
18Howard County5.4+1.9 pts
19Fulton County5.3+0.9 pts
19Lafayette County5.3+0.4 pts
21Union County5.20 pts
22Drew County5.1+0.8 pts
22Ouachita County5.1+1 pts
22Van Buren County5.1+0.6 pts
25Arkansas County5+1 pts
25Cleburne County5+1 pts
25Greene County5+1.3 pts
25Miller County5+0.7 pts
25Mississippi County5+1.3 pts
25Pope County5+0.8 pts
31Clay County4.9+1.2 pts
31Newton County4.9+0.8 pts
33Jackson County4.8+0.4 pts
33Little River County4.8+0.8 pts
33Pike County4.8+1.3 pts
33Sharp County4.8+0.9 pts
37Columbia County4.7+1 pts
37Hempstead County4.7+0.9 pts
37Logan County4.7+0.6 pts
37Polk County4.7+0.6 pts
41Baxter County4.6+0.5 pts
41Searcy County4.6+0.6 pts
43Cleveland County4.5+0.2 pts
43Conway County4.5+0.8 pts
43Crawford County4.5+0.9 pts
43Perry County4.5+0.6 pts
43Poinsett County4.5+0.7 pts
48Clark County4.4+0.6 pts
48Cross County4.4+0.5 pts
48Hot Spring County4.4+0.6 pts
51Carroll County4.3+0.3 pts
51Dallas County4.3+0.6 pts
51Garland County4.3+0.6 pts
51Sebastian County4.3+1 pts
55Calhoun County4.2+0.5 pts
55Franklin County4.2+0.7 pts
55Prairie County4.2+0.8 pts
55Pulaski County4.2+0.7 pts
55Yell County4.2+0.8 pts
60Lawrence County4.1+0.4 pts
60Scott County4.1+1 pts
60White County4.1+0.5 pts
63Woodruff County4+0.3 pts
64Boone County3.9+0.6 pts
65Craighead County3.8+0.5 pts
65Randolph County3.8+0.3 pts
67Faulkner County3.7+0.7 pts
68Lonoke County3.6+0.7 pts
69Grant County3.5+0.5 pts
69Independence County3.5+0.4 pts
71Saline County3.4+0.5 pts
71Sevier County3.4+0.5 pts
73Madison County3.3+0.2 pts
74Washington County3.2+0.4 pts
75Benton County3.1+0.3 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.

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 unemployment rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"unemployment_rate","level":"province","within":"Arkansas","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=unemployment_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 unemployment rate?

Phillips County, with 7.4% in December 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Benton County, with 3.1% in December 2025.

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