Counties in Arkansas by unemployment rate

Phillips County had the highest unemployment rate of 75 counties in February 2026, at 8%. Madison County had the lowest, at 3.5%. The median was 4.9% and the figure for Arkansas was 4.4%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Median4.975 counties
Arkansas4.4History

Top 40 counties, February 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Phillips CountyPhillips County: 8 %8Desha CountyDesha County: 7.8 %7.8Chicot CountyChicot County: 7.7 %7.7Lee CountyLee County: 7 %7Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 6.8 %6.8Monroe CountyMonroe County: 6.6 %6.6Marion CountyMarion County: 6.5 %6.5Ashley CountyAshley County: 6.3 %6.3Nevada CountyNevada County: 6.3 %6.3Izard CountyIzard County: 6.2 %6.2St. Francis CountySt. Francis County: 6.2 %6.2Stone CountyStone County: 6.1 %6.1Bradley CountyBradley County: 6 %6Crittenden CountyCrittenden County: 6 %6Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 6 %6Johnson CountyJohnson County: 5.8 %5.8Newton CountyNewton County: 5.8 %5.8Arkansas CountyArkansas County: 5.7 %5.7Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 5.6 %5.6Fulton CountyFulton County: 5.5 %5.5Howard CountyHoward County: 5.5 %5.5Union CountyUnion County: 5.4 %5.4Van Buren CountyVan Buren County: 5.4 %5.4Cleburne CountyCleburne County: 5.3 %5.3Lafayette CountyLafayette County: 5.3 %5.3Miller CountyMiller County: 5.3 %5.3Columbia CountyColumbia County: 5.2 %5.2Drew CountyDrew County: 5.2 %5.2Mississippi CountyMississippi County: 5.2 %5.2Pope CountyPope County: 5.1 %5.1Little River CountyLittle River County: 5 %5Ouachita CountyOuachita County: 5 %5Clark CountyClark County: 4.9 %4.9Conway CountyConway County: 4.9 %4.9Greene CountyGreene County: 4.9 %4.9Hempstead CountyHempstead County: 4.9 %4.9Hot Spring CountyHot Spring County: 4.9 %4.9Pike CountyPike County: 4.9 %4.9Polk CountyPolk County: 4.9 %4.9Sharp CountySharp County: 4.9 %4.9
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesFebruary 2026 (%)Change on February 2025
1Phillips County8+0.6 pts
2Desha County7.80 pts
3Chicot County7.7+1.3 pts
4Lee County7+0.7 pts
5Jefferson County6.8+0.8 pts
6Monroe County6.6+1.1 pts
7Marion County6.5-0.5 pts
8Ashley County6.3-0.5 pts
8Nevada County6.3+0.8 pts
10Izard County6.2-0.3 pts
10St. Francis County6.2+0.1 pts
12Stone County6.1-0.1 pts
13Bradley County6-0.9 pts
13Crittenden County6+0.3 pts
13Lincoln County6-0.2 pts
16Johnson County5.8+0.2 pts
16Newton County5.8-0.3 pts
18Arkansas County5.7+0.6 pts
19Montgomery County5.6+0.3 pts
20Fulton County5.50 pts
20Howard County5.5+1 pts
22Union County5.4-0.3 pts
22Van Buren County5.4-0.5 pts
24Cleburne County5.3+0.3 pts
24Lafayette County5.3-1.1 pts
24Miller County5.3+0.4 pts
27Columbia County5.2+0.5 pts
27Drew County5.2-0.2 pts
27Mississippi County5.2+0.7 pts
30Pope County5.1+0.1 pts
31Little River County5+0.6 pts
31Ouachita County5-0.1 pts
33Clark County4.9+0.1 pts
33Conway County4.9+0.3 pts
33Greene County4.9+0.4 pts
33Hempstead County4.9+0.7 pts
33Hot Spring County4.9+0.4 pts
33Pike County4.9+0.5 pts
33Polk County4.9+0.2 pts
33Sharp County4.9-0.2 pts
41Baxter County4.8+0.1 pts
41Cleveland County4.8+0.3 pts
43Carroll County4.7-0.3 pts
43Clay County4.7-0.1 pts
43Perry County4.7-0.1 pts
43Poinsett County4.7+0.1 pts
43Searcy County4.7-0.4 pts
48Crawford County4.6+0.2 pts
48Cross County4.6-0.3 pts
48Dallas County4.6+0.3 pts
48Franklin County4.6+0.1 pts
48Garland County4.6+0.2 pts
48Jackson County4.6-0.7 pts
48Logan County4.6-0.3 pts
48Prairie County4.6+0.3 pts
56Pulaski County4.5+0.3 pts
56White County4.5+0.1 pts
58Sebastian County4.4+0.3 pts
59Calhoun County4.3-0.4 pts
59Lawrence County4.3-0.1 pts
59Randolph County4.30 pts
59Scott County4.3+0.3 pts
59Yell County4.3+0.2 pts
64Boone County4.20 pts
64Woodruff County4.2-0.3 pts
66Craighead County4.10 pts
67Faulkner County4+0.2 pts
68Lonoke County3.9+0.3 pts
69Independence County3.8-0.4 pts
69Sevier County3.8+0.1 pts
71Saline County3.7+0.1 pts
72Grant County3.6-0.2 pts
72Washington County3.6+0.1 pts
74Benton County3.5+0.1 pts
74Madison County3.5-0.3 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.

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Questions

Which county has the highest unemployment rate?

Phillips County, with 8% in February 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Madison County, with 3.5% in February 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