Families
Children Living in Poverty
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Children Living in Poverty
2015-19
Arkansas County23%**
Ashley County19%**
Baxter County18%
Benton County13%
Boone County22%
Bowie County, Texas22%
Bradley County30%**
Calhoun County27%****
Carroll County19%
Chicot County45%
Clark County26%
Clay County29%
Cleburne County20%
Cleveland County28%**
Columbia County35%
Conway County26%
Craighead County22%
Crawford County27%
Crittenden County34%
Cross County16%**
Dallas County19%****
Desha County48%
Drew County20%**
Faulkner County16%
Franklin County32%**
Fulton County31%**
Garland County31%
Grant County16%**
Greene County26%
Hempstead County35%
Hot Spring County24%
Howard County33%**
Independence County24%
Izard County30%**
Jackson County40%
Jefferson County34%
Johnson County31%
Lafayette County40%
Lawrence County19%
Lee County26%**
Lincoln County30%**
Little River County26%**
Logan County29%
Lonoke County17%
Madison County20%**
Marion County25%**
Miller County31%
Mississippi County35%
Monroe County52%
Montgomery County33%**
Nevada County34%******
Newton County21%****
Ouachita County35%**
Perry County24%**
Phillips County56%
Pike County16%**
Poinsett County35%
Polk County28%
Pope County21%
Prairie County20%**
Pulaski County25%
Randolph County24%**
Saline County13%
Scott County25%**
Searcy County29%**
Sebastian County27%
Sevier County32%
Sharp County36%
St. Francis County34%
Stone County25%**
Union County26%
Van Buren County27%
Washington County18%
White County20%
Woodruff County41%
Yell County24%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Notes: Multiyear results are from rolling American Community Survey. * Margin of error between 20% & 35% of estimate; ** margin of error between 35% & 50%; *** margin of error greater than 50%.




Number of Children Living in Poverty
2015-19
Arkansas County897**
Ashley County885**
Baxter County1,250
Benton County9,309
Boone County1,838
Bowie County, Texas4,885
Bradley County790**
Calhoun County259****
Carroll County1,139
Chicot County1,054
Clark County1,059
Clay County931
Cleburne County934
Cleveland County504**
Columbia County1,691
Conway County1,261
Craighead County5,754
Crawford County4,038
Crittenden County4,486
Cross County640**
Dallas County193****
Desha County1,378
Drew County765**
Faulkner County4,512
Franklin County1,340**
Fulton County776**
Garland County6,152
Grant County645**
Greene County2,746
Hempstead County1,946
Hot Spring County1,646
Howard County1,124**
Independence County2,121
Izard County717**
Jackson County1,341
Jefferson County5,042
Johnson County1,954
Lafayette County510
Lawrence County687
Lee County426**
Lincoln County593**
Little River County681**
Logan County1,366
Lonoke County3,098
Madison County754**
Marion County718**
Miller County3,137
Mississippi County3,832
Monroe County768
Montgomery County539**
Nevada County644******
Newton County327****
Ouachita County1,872**
Perry County545**
Phillips County2,666
Pike County377**
Poinsett County1,890
Polk County1,281
Pope County2,977
Prairie County312**
Pulaski County22,655
Randolph County930**
Saline County3,534
Scott County647**
Searcy County441**
Sebastian County8,129
Sevier County1,528
Sharp County1,247
St. Francis County1,913
Stone County607**
Union County2,438
Van Buren County894
Washington County10,162
White County3,656
Woodruff County536
Yell County1,240

Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Notes: Multiyear results are from rolling American Community Survey. * Margin of error between 20% & 35% of estimate; ** margin of error between 35% & 50%; *** margin of error greater than 50%.



NATIONAL RANKING
45

OUT OF 51
2015-19

STATE TREND

Increasing


24%

2015-19
1% = 6,912
Children Under 18

What does this measure?

The number of children under 18 who live below the federally defined poverty line, expressed as a percentage of all children under 18. Poverty thresholds vary by family composition and year. In 2019, the threshold for a four-person family with two children was $25,926.

Why is this important?

Children raised in impoverished environments are at higher risk for a wide variety of health and social problems, including poor performance in school. The challenges they face in childhood can diminish their chances for successful adult lives. Studies have found that the stress of living in poverty can cause biological changes in children that can lead to long-term health problems.

How is Arkansas doing?

In 2015-19, 24% of children were living in poverty, up 2 percentage points from 2000 and higher than the national rate of 19%. This makes Arkansas 45th in the nation on this indicator, including the 50 states and Washington, D.C. Rates varied greatly among racial and ethnic groups, with 42% of black or African American and 33% of Hispanic children in poverty, compared to 18% of white children. Since 2000, the largest increase among the biggest groups was a 3 percentage-point jump for white children. Among counties in the state, child poverty rates ranged from 13% in Saline and Benton counties to 56% in Phillips. An equal percentage of male and female children are in poverty.

What contributes to racial and ethnic disparities?

The unequal access to economic opportunity experienced by Black, Latino and other racial and ethnic groups has led to higher rates of child poverty within these groups. Relevant factors include: living in a single-parent household, especially if the single parent is female; having parent(s) who are unemployed, employed and/or underemployed in low-wage jobs or incarcerated; and living in communities that have experienced disinvestment and have ineffective and/or under-resourced schools.

Notes about the data

Poverty status is not reported for people in institutions, including college dormitories and military barracks, and people in living situations without conventional housing.

The multiyear figures are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The bureau combined 5 years of responses to the survey to provide estimates for smaller geographic areas and increase the precision of its estimates. However, because the information came from a survey, the samples responding to the survey were not always large enough to produce reliable results, especially in small geographic areas. CGR has noted on data tables the estimates with relatively large margins of error. Estimates with three asterisks have the largest margins, plus or minus 50% or more of the estimate. Two asterisks mean plus or minus 35%-50%, and one asterisk means plus or minus 20%-35%. For all estimates, the confidence level is 90%, meaning there is 90% probability the true value (if the whole population were surveyed) would be within the margin of error (or confidence interval). The survey provides data on characteristics of the population that used to be collected only during the decennial census. Data for this indicator are released annually in December.




Source: U.S. Census Bureau


Children Living in Poverty
20002010-142015-19
Arkansas22%28%24%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Notes: Multiyear results are from rolling American Community Survey. * Margin of error between 20% & 35% of estimate; ** margin of error between 35% & 50%; *** margin of error greater than 50%.




Number of Children Living in Poverty
20002010-142015-19
Arkansas146,321192,898163,674

Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Notes: Multiyear results are from rolling American Community Survey. * Margin of error between 20% & 35% of estimate; ** margin of error between 35% & 50%; *** margin of error greater than 50%.






Source: U.S. Census Bureau


Children Living in Poverty by Race/Ethnicity
American Indian and Native AlaskanAsianBlack or African AmericanHispanicNative Hawaiian and Other Pacific IslanderSome Other RaceTwo or More RacesWhite
Arkansas32%11%**42%33%43%**36%27%18%
Benton County49%****9%****14%******23%31%******9%******15%**13%
Craighead County60%******11%******43%38%**0%******32%******36%****14%
Crittenden County0%******2%******44%55%**0%******91%******40%****16%**
Faulkner County22%******7%******31%**46%**100%******56%****21%****11%
Jefferson County0%******0%******41%38%******0%******53%******61%******17%**
Miller County60%******0%******52%69%******100%******72%******33%******18%**
Mississippi County0%******0%******49%61%**0%******70%******20%******27%
Phillips County0%******0%******71%14%******0%******0%******52%******16%******
Pulaski County59%******6%******37%34%0%******36%**22%**14%
Saline County0%******2%******11%******22%**0%******1%******21%******13%
Sebastian County35%******13%******49%**39%0%******37%**24%****23%
St. Francis County0%******0%******43%4%******100%******8%******1%******23%**
Union County30%******0%******46%**34%****0%******12%******28%******14%**

Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Notes: Multiyear results are from rolling American Community Survey. * Margin of error between 20% & 35% of estimate; ** margin of error between 35% & 50%; *** margin of error greater than 50%. The Census Bureau asks people to identify their race (white, African-American, etc.) separate from their ethnicity (Hispanic or non-Hispanic). So the totals for these categories cannot be added together, as people show up in both a racial and ethnic group.




Number of Children Living in Poverty by Race/Ethnicity
American Indian and Native AlaskanAsianBlack or African AmericanHispanicNative Hawaiian and Other Pacific IslanderSome Other RaceTwo or More RacesWhite
Arkansas1,6011,105**50,39628,5601,400**10,95210,10088,120
Benton County397****241****189******3,661178******101******593**7,610
Craighead County146******48******2,169868**0******278******564****2,549
Crittenden County0******1******3,136287**0******96******542****711**
Faulkner County26******26******1,112**880**103******470****320****2,455
Jefferson County0******0******3,892192******0******181******189******780**
Miller County151******0******1,554347******6******187******135******1,104**
Mississippi County0******0******1,934399**0******146******161******1,591
Phillips County0******0******2,43016******0******0******27******209******
Pulaski County158******126******14,6723,1270******1,027**1,140**5,532
Saline County0******8******287******510**0******4******222******3,013
Sebastian County115******158******1,173**2,6890******1,705**640****4,338
St. Francis County0******0******1,47122******16******22******2******402**
Union County37******0******1,580**236****0******8******77******736**

Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Notes: Multiyear results are from rolling American Community Survey. * Margin of error between 20% & 35% of estimate; ** margin of error between 35% & 50%; *** margin of error greater than 50%. The Census Bureau asks people to identify their race (white, African-American, etc.) separate from their ethnicity (Hispanic or non-Hispanic). So the totals for these categories cannot be added together, as people show up in both a racial and ethnic group.





Source: U.S. Census Bureau


Children Living in Poverty by Gender
FemaleMale
Arkansas24%24%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Notes: Multiyear results are from rolling American Community Survey. * Margin of error between 20% & 35% of estimate; ** margin of error between 35% & 50%; *** margin of error greater than 50%.




Number of Children Living in Poverty by Gender
FemaleMale
Arkansas80,27083,404

Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Notes: Multiyear results are from rolling American Community Survey. * Margin of error between 20% & 35% of estimate; ** margin of error between 35% & 50%; *** margin of error greater than 50%.









INDICATORS TREND | STATE
Access to Quality Seats for Infants and Toddlers Not Applicable
Access to Quality Childcare Seats for Preschoolers Not Applicable
Grade 3 Reading Not Applicable
Grade 8 Math Not Applicable
Graduation Rate Not Applicable
Remediation Rate Not Applicable
Adults with a High School Degree Not Applicable
Adults with a Bachelor's Degree or Higher Not Applicable
Adults Pursuing Further Education Not Applicable
Infant Mortality Not Applicable
Early Prenatal Care Not Applicable
Overweight or Obese Students Not Applicable
Student Drug Usage Not Applicable
Overweight or Obese Adults Not Applicable
Physically Inactive Adults Not Applicable
Smoking Rate Not Applicable
Flouridated Water Not Applicable
Insurance Coverage Rates Not Applicable
Oral Health Not Applicable
Life Expectancy Not Applicable
Routine Check-ups Not Applicable
Births to Teens Not Applicable
Female-headed Households Not Applicable
Children Living in Poverty Not Applicable
People Living in Poverty Not Applicable
Elderly Living in Poverty Not Applicable
Median Household Income Not Applicable
Unemployment Rate Not Applicable
Homeownership Rate Not Applicable
Child Abuse and Neglect Not Applicable
Access to Financial Services Not Applicable
Food Insecurity Not Applicable
Incarceration Rate Not Applicable
Homelessness Not Applicable
Change in Total Jobs Not Applicable
Housing Affordability - Owning Not Applicable
Housing Affordability - Renting Not Applicable
Households Below ALICE Threshold Not Applicable
Voter Participation Rate Not Applicable
Charitable Giving Not Applicable
Volunteering Not Applicable
Group Participation Not Applicable
Connection to Neighbors Not Applicable
Local Voting Not Applicable
Change in Population Not Applicable
Change in Population by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Change in Population by Age Not Applicable
Adults with a High School Degree Not Applicable
Adults with a Bachelor's Degree or Higher Not Applicable
Female-headed Households Not Applicable
Children Living in Poverty Not Applicable
People Living in Poverty Not Applicable
Elderly Living in Poverty Not Applicable
Median Household Income Not Applicable
Unemployment Rate Not Applicable
Homeownership Rate Not Applicable
Incarceration Rate Not Applicable
Change in Population by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable


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