Counties in Arkansas by unemployment rate

Phillips County had the highest unemployment rate of 75 counties in January 2026, at 8.5%. Benton County had the lowest, at 3.9%. The median was 5.6% and the figure for Arkansas was 4.4%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest8.5Phillips County
Lowest3.9Benton County
Median5.675 counties
Arkansas4.4History

Top 40 counties, January 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Phillips CountyPhillips County: 8.5 %8.5Lee CountyLee County: 8.3 %8.3Desha CountyDesha County: 8.1 %8.1Chicot CountyChicot County: 7.8 %7.8Marion CountyMarion County: 7.8 %7.8Newton CountyNewton County: 7.7 %7.7Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 7.5 %7.5Stone CountyStone County: 7.3 %7.3Izard CountyIzard County: 7.2 %7.2St. Francis CountySt. Francis County: 7.2 %7.2Monroe CountyMonroe County: 7.1 %7.1Ashley CountyAshley County: 7 %7Nevada CountyNevada County: 7 %7Bradley CountyBradley County: 6.9 %6.9Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 6.9 %6.9Johnson CountyJohnson County: 6.7 %6.7Crittenden CountyCrittenden County: 6.6 %6.6Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 6.6 %6.6Fulton CountyFulton County: 6.5 %6.5Howard CountyHoward County: 6.3 %6.3Van Buren CountyVan Buren County: 6.3 %6.3Arkansas CountyArkansas County: 6.2 %6.2Miller CountyMiller County: 6.1 %6.1Union CountyUnion County: 6.1 %6.1Cleburne CountyCleburne County: 6 %6Pope CountyPope County: 5.9 %5.9Boone CountyBoone County: 5.8 %5.8Drew CountyDrew County: 5.8 %5.8Jackson CountyJackson County: 5.8 %5.8Lafayette CountyLafayette County: 5.8 %5.8Mississippi CountyMississippi County: 5.8 %5.8Ouachita CountyOuachita County: 5.8 %5.8Greene CountyGreene County: 5.7 %5.7Little River CountyLittle River County: 5.7 %5.7Pike CountyPike County: 5.7 %5.7Sharp CountySharp County: 5.7 %5.7Baxter CountyBaxter County: 5.6 %5.6Carroll CountyCarroll County: 5.6 %5.6Columbia CountyColumbia County: 5.6 %5.6Perry CountyPerry County: 5.6 %5.6
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesJanuary 2026 (%)Change on January 2025
1Phillips County8.5+1.1 pts
2Lee County8.3+1.8 pts
3Desha County8.10 pts
4Chicot County7.8+1 pts
4Marion County7.8+1.2 pts
6Newton County7.7+1.7 pts
7Jefferson County7.5+1.6 pts
8Stone County7.3+1.2 pts
9Izard County7.2+0.3 pts
9St. Francis County7.2+1 pts
11Monroe County7.1+1.5 pts
12Ashley County70 pts
12Nevada County7+1.5 pts
14Bradley County6.9-0.1 pts
14Lincoln County6.9+0.6 pts
16Johnson County6.7+1.2 pts
17Crittenden County6.6+0.9 pts
17Montgomery County6.6+1.1 pts
19Fulton County6.5+1.2 pts
20Howard County6.3+2 pts
20Van Buren County6.3+0.7 pts
22Arkansas County6.2+1.3 pts
23Miller County6.1+1.4 pts
23Union County6.1+0.2 pts
25Cleburne County6+1.2 pts
26Pope County5.9+0.8 pts
27Boone County5.8+1.8 pts
27Drew County5.8+0.6 pts
27Jackson County5.8+0.6 pts
27Lafayette County5.8+0.3 pts
27Mississippi County5.8+1.3 pts
27Ouachita County5.8+0.9 pts
33Greene County5.7+1.3 pts
33Little River County5.7+1.2 pts
33Pike County5.7+1.6 pts
33Sharp County5.7+0.9 pts
37Baxter County5.6+0.9 pts
37Carroll County5.6+0.7 pts
37Columbia County5.6+1.2 pts
37Perry County5.6+1 pts
41Cleveland County5.5+0.8 pts
41Hempstead County5.5+1.2 pts
41Hot Spring County5.5+1.1 pts
41Logan County5.5+0.5 pts
41Polk County5.5+1 pts
41Searcy County5.5+0.6 pts
47Clark County5.4+0.8 pts
47Clay County5.4+0.6 pts
47Poinsett County5.4+0.8 pts
50Conway County5.3+0.8 pts
50Franklin County5.3+0.8 pts
52Crawford County5.2+1 pts
52Cross County5.2+0.2 pts
52Garland County5.2+0.9 pts
55Pulaski County5.1+1 pts
55White County5.1+0.8 pts
55Yell County5.1+1 pts
58Dallas County5+0.7 pts
58Lawrence County5+0.5 pts
58Prairie County5+0.8 pts
61Calhoun County4.9+0.5 pts
61Scott County4.9+1.1 pts
61Sebastian County4.9+0.9 pts
64Craighead County4.7+0.7 pts
64Randolph County4.7+0.6 pts
64Woodruff County4.7+0.2 pts
67Faulkner County4.5+0.9 pts
67Lonoke County4.5+1.1 pts
69Independence County4.3+0.6 pts
69Sevier County4.3+1 pts
71Grant County4.2+0.8 pts
71Saline County4.2+0.8 pts
73Madison County4.1+0.6 pts
74Washington County4+0.7 pts
75Benton County3.9+0.6 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 8.5% in January 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Benton County, with 3.9% in January 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