Counties in Arkansas by unemployment rate

Phillips County had the highest unemployment rate of 75 counties in May 2026, at 7%. Madison County had the lowest, at 2.9%. The median was 4.1% and the figure for Arkansas was 4.2%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Median4.175 counties
Arkansas4.2History

Top 40 counties, May 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Phillips CountyPhillips County: 7 %7Desha CountyDesha County: 6.6 %6.6Chicot CountyChicot County: 5.9 %5.9Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 5.7 %5.7Izard CountyIzard County: 5.4 %5.4Nevada CountyNevada County: 5.3 %5.3Lee CountyLee County: 5.2 %5.2Ashley CountyAshley County: 5.1 %5.1Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 5.1 %5.1Marion CountyMarion County: 5.1 %5.1Johnson CountyJohnson County: 5 %5Bradley CountyBradley County: 4.9 %4.9Crittenden CountyCrittenden County: 4.9 %4.9Monroe CountyMonroe County: 4.9 %4.9St. Francis CountySt. Francis County: 4.9 %4.9Stone CountyStone County: 4.7 %4.7Van Buren CountyVan Buren County: 4.6 %4.6Howard CountyHoward County: 4.5 %4.5Pope CountyPope County: 4.5 %4.5Union CountyUnion County: 4.5 %4.5Columbia CountyColumbia County: 4.4 %4.4Fulton CountyFulton County: 4.4 %4.4Miller CountyMiller County: 4.4 %4.4Ouachita CountyOuachita County: 4.4 %4.4Arkansas CountyArkansas County: 4.3 %4.3Cleburne CountyCleburne County: 4.3 %4.3Dallas CountyDallas County: 4.3 %4.3Drew CountyDrew County: 4.3 %4.3Greene CountyGreene County: 4.3 %4.3Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 4.3 %4.3Lafayette CountyLafayette County: 4.2 %4.2Perry CountyPerry County: 4.2 %4.2Polk CountyPolk County: 4.2 %4.2Clark CountyClark County: 4.1 %4.1Cleveland CountyCleveland County: 4.1 %4.1Hot Spring CountyHot Spring County: 4.1 %4.1Mississippi CountyMississippi County: 4.1 %4.1Newton CountyNewton County: 4.1 %4.1Pike CountyPike County: 4.1 %4.1Baxter CountyBaxter County: 4 %4
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesMay 2026 (%)Change on May 2025
1Phillips County7+0.6 pts
2Desha County6.6-0.6 pts
3Chicot County5.9-0.3 pts
4Jefferson County5.7+0.2 pts
5Izard County5.4+0.1 pts
6Nevada County5.3+0.5 pts
7Lee County5.2-0.5 pts
8Ashley County5.1-0.8 pts
8Lincoln County5.1-0.3 pts
8Marion County5.1-0.5 pts
11Johnson County5+0.1 pts
12Bradley County4.9-1.5 pts
12Crittenden County4.9-0.3 pts
12Monroe County4.9-0.4 pts
12St. Francis County4.9-0.6 pts
16Stone County4.7-0.4 pts
17Van Buren County4.6-0.2 pts
18Howard County4.5+0.2 pts
18Pope County4.50 pts
18Union County4.5-0.7 pts
21Columbia County4.40 pts
21Fulton County4.4-0.3 pts
21Miller County4.4-0.1 pts
21Ouachita County4.4-0.2 pts
25Arkansas County4.30 pts
25Cleburne County4.3+0.1 pts
25Dallas County4.3+0.4 pts
25Drew County4.3-0.3 pts
25Greene County4.3+0.4 pts
25Montgomery County4.3+0.1 pts
31Lafayette County4.2-1.2 pts
31Perry County4.2-0.4 pts
31Polk County4.2+0.1 pts
34Clark County4.1-0.3 pts
34Cleveland County4.10 pts
34Hot Spring County4.1-0.1 pts
34Mississippi County4.1-0.4 pts
34Newton County4.1-0.3 pts
34Pike County4.1+0.2 pts
40Baxter County4-0.1 pts
40Prairie County4+0.2 pts
40Pulaski County4+0.1 pts
40Sharp County4-0.1 pts
44Conway County3.9-0.2 pts
44Franklin County3.9-0.1 pts
44Hempstead County3.9+0.1 pts
44Yell County3.9+0.1 pts
48Crawford County3.8-0.1 pts
48Cross County3.8-0.1 pts
48Garland County3.8-0.1 pts
48Lawrence County3.8-0.1 pts
48Little River County3.8+0.2 pts
48Poinsett County3.8-0.3 pts
54Clay County3.7-0.2 pts
54Logan County3.7-0.4 pts
54Scott County3.70 pts
54Sebastian County3.70 pts
54White County3.70 pts
59Jackson County3.6-0.8 pts
60Boone County3.5-0.1 pts
60Calhoun County3.5-0.9 pts
60Carroll County3.5-0.1 pts
60Craighead County3.5-0.2 pts
60Faulkner County3.5+0.1 pts
60Searcy County3.5-0.1 pts
66Randolph County3.4-0.2 pts
67Lonoke County3.30 pts
67Woodruff County3.3-0.1 pts
69Grant County3.20 pts
69Independence County3.2-0.1 pts
69Saline County3.20 pts
72Sevier County3-0.1 pts
72Washington County3-0.1 pts
74Benton County2.9-0.1 pts
74Madison County2.9-0.2 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% in May 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Madison County, with 2.9% in May 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