John Lettieri, President and CEO of Economic Innovation Group | Official Website
John Lettieri, President and CEO of Economic Innovation Group | Official Website
Among all government transfer programs, Income Maintenance was the smallest contributor in the county. Social Security was the largest contributor, totaling $104.19 million, equating to $5,677 per capita and making up 33.2% of total transfers.
Comparatively, Income Maintenance transfers across Arkansas amounted to $3.65 billion, ranking lowest among all transfer types within the state. This translates to an average of $1,199 per capita, or 9.6% of total government transfers. Including all transfer types, government transfer payments totaled $38.05 billion, accounting for 23.7% of residents’ total income, with an average of $12,493 per resident.
Medicare was the second largest contributor in Ashley County in 2022, accounting for $81.86 million, averaging $4,460 per capita, representing 26.1% of transfers. Medicaid transfers provided another $76.89 million, averaging $4,189 per capita and comprising 24.5% of government support, making them the third largest contributors.
Government transfer payments are non-repayable funds provided by federal, state, or local governments to support individuals in need. These payments aim to stabilize economic conditions and provide financial support during hardships. Key programs include Social Security transfers (retirement benefits), Medicare transfers (healthcare for seniors), Medicaid transfers (healthcare for low-income individuals), and income maintenance transfers (financial assistance for basic needs).
With 21.9% of the population aged 65 and older, Ashley County has a significant demand for programs like Social Security and Medicare. Despite this aid, the total per capita income in Ashley County, excluding government transfers was $27,608, which is far below the county's total income of $44,693, emphasizing the role of government transfers in overall income.
When comparing 2022 to the previous year, Ashley County saw a decrease in its Income Maintenance transfer dependency by 0.6%.
Government transfers have long been a modest financial safety net, historically comprising only a small fraction of Americans' income. However, since the 1970s—sometimes dubbed the “Great Transfer-mation”—dependency has surged from 8.2% (or $2,022 per capita in inflation-adjusted 2022 dollars) in 1970 to 17.6% (or $11,542 per capita) in 2022 nationwide. In Ashley County, reliance on government transfers has similarly increased from 10.6% (or $1,786 per capita) in 1970 to 38.2% (or $17,085 per capita) in 2022, reflecting broader national trends.
According to the Economic Innovation Group’s analysis, these trends are not merely short-term responses to economic pressures but rather reflect a profound, long-term transformation in how government support is integrated into American life. The study illustrates that structural shifts—from rising healthcare expenses and demographic changes to stagnant wages—have significantly increased dependency on government transfers.
| County | Rank | Dependency on Transfers (%) | % Population 65+ | Social Security Transfers (%) | Medicare Transfers (%) | Medicaid Transfers (%) | Income Maintenance Transfers (%) | Per Capita Transfers ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pulaski County | 1 | 20.3% | 16.7% | 6.4% | 4.3% | 4.8% | 2.2% | $12,481 |
| Benton County | 2 | 8.2% | 13.8% | 3.1% | 2% | 1.3% | 0.7% | $8,086 |
| Washington County | 3 | 17% | 12.4% | 5.8% | 3.7% | 3.6% | 1.8% | $8,313 |
| Garland County | 4 | 33.4% | 24.8% | 11.7% | 9.5% | 6.6% | 2.5% | $16,220 |
| Sebastian County | 5 | 25.4% | 17% | 8.2% | 6% | 5.9% | 2.6% | $12,297 |
| Saline County | 6 | 22.4% | 18.5% | 8.4% | 5.4% | 4.9% | 1.5% | $11,721 |
| Faulkner County | 7 | 22.3% | 13.9% | 6.9% | 4.4% | 6.4% | 1.9% | $10,742 |
| Craighead County | 8 | 24.6% | 14.1% | 7.1% | 5.5% | 6.9% | 2.8% | $11,398 |
| White County | 9 | 29.1% | 16.8% | 9.6% | 7.2% | 6.2% | 2.7% | $12,679 |
| Jefferson County | 10 | 37.2% | 18.9% | 10.4% | 8.2% | 9.1% | 4.6% | $15,163 |
| Lonoke County | 11 | 23.8% | 14.8% | 7.4% | 5.4% | 4.7% | 2% | $11,517 |
| Crawford County | 12 | 30.8% | 17.9% | 10.5% | 7.4% | 6.6% | 2.8% | $12,872 |
| Pope County | 13 | 28.4% | 16.6% | 9.3% | 6.5% | 6.7% | 2.5% | $11,819 |
| Baxter County | 14 | 38.6% | 30.7% | 15.5% | 10.9% | 5.7% | 2.1% | $17,155 |
| Crittenden County | 15 | 31.2% | 15.1% | 8.5% | 6.3% | 9.4% | 4.6% | $13,728 |
| Greene County | 16 | 29.8% | 16.6% | 9.4% | 7.1% | 7.5% | 3% | $12,394 |
| Mississippi County | 17 | 32.7% | 15.8% | 9% | 7.1% | 9.6% | 4.6% | $14,221 |
| Union County | 18 | 28.4% | 19.5% | 9.7% | 6.8% | 6.8% | 2.8% | $14,558 |
| Miller County | 19 | 31.1% | 17.3% | 9.7% | 7.7% | 6.9% | 3.9% | $12,416 |
| Boone County | 20 | 31.9% | 21% | 11.9% | 7.5% | 6.4% | 2.6% | $13,514 |
| Independence County | 21 | 30% | 18.1% | 9.7% | 7.6% | 7.5% | 2.5% | $13,283 |
| Hot Spring County | 22 | 35.6% | 19.8% | 12% | 8.7% | 8.8% | 3% | $13,405 |
| Cleburne County | 23 | 32.7% | 27.4% | 13% | 8.7% | 5.4% | 2.1% | $15,833 |
| Poinsett County | 24 | 37.5% | 18.4% | 10.4% | 9.7% | 11.1% | 4% | $15,958 |
| Carroll County | 25 | 29.8% | 24% | 11.7% | 7.5% | 4.9% | 2.4% | $12,426 |
| Ouachita County | 26 | 33.1% | 21.5% | 10.8% | 8% | 8.3% | 3.2% | $15,898 |
| St. Francis County | 27 | 43.2% | 17.9% | 10.8% | 9.4% | 13.5% | 6.1% | $15,410 |
| Logan County | 28 | 39.3% | 20.5% | 11.8% | 8.5% | 12.4% | 3.2% | $16,030 |
| Sharp County | 29 | 42.1% | 25.6% | 13.6% | 12% | 8.2% | 3.1% | $18,393 |
| Columbia County | 30 | 31.4% | 17.7% | 9.9% | 6.9% | 8.9% | 3.4% | $14,204 |
| Johnson County | 31 | 34.1% | 17.7% | 11.5% | 7.1% | 8.1% | 3.9% | $12,101 |
| Ashley County | 32 | 38.2% | 21.9% | 12.7% | 10% | 9.4% | 3.4% | $17,085 |
| Clark County | 33 | 34.1% | 16.6% | 9.7% | 6.8% | 11.5% | 2.7% | $14,449 |
| Conway County | 34 | 29.5% | 20% | 9.9% | 6.7% | 7.2% | 2.8% | $13,997 |
| Phillips County | 35 | 43.2% | 21% | 10.4% | 8% | 15% | 6.8% | $19,144 |
| Hempstead County | 36 | 34.5% | 19.1% | 10.1% | 7.5% | 10.3% | 4% | $14,794 |
| Randolph County | 37 | 36.6% | 19.2% | 10.4% | 10% | 9% | 3.2% | $14,994 |
| Polk County | 38 | 36.7% | 23.3% | 13% | 9% | 6.9% | 3.3% | $14,553 |
| Yell County | 39 | 31.4% | 18.3% | 9.8% | 7.8% | 8.1% | 3.1% | $13,817 |
| Marion County | 40 | 41.6% | 29.4% | 16.4% | 9.7% | 7.7% | 3% | $15,283 |
| Van Buren County | 41 | 42.4% | 26.3% | 15.8% | 11% | 8.3% | 3% | $16,315 |
| Lawrence County | 42 | 37.9% | 19.2% | 10.8% | 9.5% | 10.8% | 3.3% | $15,999 |
| Drew County | 43 | 31.1% | 18.3% | 9.2% | 6.9% | 8.7% | 3.1% | $14,482 |
| Arkansas County | 44 | 25.3% | 20.4% | 8.2% | 6.1% | 6.9% | 2.4% | $14,626 |
| Jackson County | 45 | 31% | 18.2% | 8.8% | 8.8% | 8.1% | 3% | $14,248 |
| Cross County | 46 | 34.4% | 18.6% | 10.6% | 8.1% | 9.4% | 3.6% | $14,129 |
| Franklin County | 47 | 31.9% | 20.4% | 11.3% | 7.7% | 6.7% | 2.6% | $13,418 |
| Clay County | 48 | 36.4% | 21.4% | 11.2% | 9.9% | 9% | 2.9% | $15,833 |
| Grant County | 49 | 26.2% | 18.7% | 9.4% | 6.7% | 5.1% | 1.9% | $11,996 |
| Madison County | 50 | 27.5% | 19.5% | 9.4% | 8% | 4.9% | 2.6% | $12,219 |
| Stone County | 51 | 45% | 28% | 16% | 12% | 9.1% | 3.5% | $16,586 |
| Izard County | 52 | 42.5% | 25% | 15.4% | 9.3% | 9.4% | 3.2% | $14,726 |
| Chicot County | 53 | 41.7% | 22.2% | 10.4% | 9.3% | 14.6% | 4.6% | $18,913 |
| Desha County | 54 | 35.7% | 20.2% | 9.6% | 8.4% | 10.9% | 4.2% | $17,200 |
| Fulton County | 55 | 43.9% | 25.8% | 15.4% | 10% | 9.8% | 3.5% | $14,931 |
| Bradley County | 56 | 36.9% | 19.4% | 9.3% | 8.4% | 13.5% | 3.5% | $17,997 |
| Howard County | 57 | 30.6% | 18.9% | 9.7% | 7.6% | 7.7% | 3.3% | $14,478 |
| Sevier County | 58 | 25.4% | 14.6% | 7.4% | 6% | 6.1% | 3.2% | $11,372 |
| Little River County | 59 | 35.4% | 21.7% | 12.4% | 10.2% | 6.5% | 3.1% | $14,754 |
| Pike County | 60 | 37% | 20.8% | 11.7% | 10% | 9.5% | 3.2% | $15,272 |
| Lincoln County | 61 | 34.5% | 15.1% | 9.8% | 9.3% | 9.7% | 3.3% | $11,398 |
| Perry County | 62 | 31.5% | 21.3% | 11.1% | 7.7% | 6.8% | 2.7% | $13,939 |
| Nevada County | 63 | 41.3% | 21.7% | 11.6% | 9.4% | 13.4% | 3.5% | $16,705 |
| Searcy County | 64 | 49.1% | 25.8% | 16.4% | 13% | 11.3% | 3.9% | $16,502 |
| Scott County | 65 | 33.3% | 21.6% | 11.7% | 6.5% | 7.9% | 4.1% | $13,282 |
| Montgomery County | 66 | 39.4% | 27.4% | 14.6% | 9% | 8.7% | 3% | $14,937 |
| Lee County | 67 | 42.4% | 20.2% | 10.9% | 8.2% | 15.2% | 6% | $15,185 |
| Dallas County | 68 | 41.8% | 25.8% | 12.3% | 8.6% | 15.2% | 3.4% | $19,670 |
| Monroe County | 69 | 44% | 24% | 12.8% | 10.1% | 13% | 4.7% | $17,641 |
| Prairie County | 70 | 32.7% | 24% | 11.2% | 8.5% | 7.9% | 2.5% | $14,235 |
| Newton County | 71 | 41.8% | 27.4% | 15.3% | 10.3% | 8.8% | 3.4% | $15,817 |
| Cleveland County | 72 | 29% | 21.6% | 9.4% | 7.2% | 7.1% | 2.2% | $14,855 |
| Woodruff County | 73 | 35.5% | 24.6% | 10.2% | 9.4% | 10.2% | 3.5% | $17,877 |
| Lafayette County | 74 | 32.1% | 25.8% | 10.5% | 7.7% | 8.3% | 3.2% | $15,957 |
| Calhoun County | 75 | 28.1% | 22.8% | 10.5% | 7.3% | 4.9% | 2.3% | $13,217 |
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