State food-access profile · 75 counties

Food access in Arkansas

How far Arkansas residents live from a supermarket, where the food deserts are, and the SNAP, poverty, and vehicle-access context, from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and the Census ACS (2024).

Compiled by Plainfoodaccess, Food Access Editorial Process · June 23, 2026

24.9%
low-access pop.: 171
food-desert tracts: 10.2%
on SNAP: 75
counties

The statewide picture

About 726K Arkansas residents - 24.9% - live in a low-access area, and 171 census tracts across the state are USDA-designated food deserts.

726K
low-access residents: 292K
food-desert residents: 5.8%
households, no vehicle: 16.0%
below poverty line

Shares are population-weighted across the state's tracts, not an average of county percentages. Low access = >1 mile (urban) / >10 miles (rural) from a supermarket.

Where Arkansas stands nationally

Every state colored by its population-weighted low-access share, Arkansas is ringed. Click any state to compare.

USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context

The USDA Food Access Research Atlas evaluates every census tract in Arkansas against the same rule used nationwide: a tract is low-access when many residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. Across 75 counties and 3.0M residents, Arkansas's population-weighted low-access share is 24.9%.

A tract becomes a food desert only when its low-access residents are also low-income. That applies to 171 tracts in Arkansas, home to roughly 292K low-income, low-access residents. SNAP participation across the state averages 10.2% of households, and 5.8% of households have no vehicle, the transport gap that turns distance into a real barrier. The county table below is sorted with the highest low-access share first, so the top rows are where distance, income, and vehicle gaps most consistently overlap.

Counties

24.9%

Low-access (pop-weighted)

726K

Low-access residents

10.2%

Avg. SNAP

Calhoun

65.5
Nevada

54.2
Dallas

52
St. Francis

47.2
Arkansas

47
Lee

44.6
Lawrence

38
Phillips

36.1

All counties in Arkansas

County	Population	Low-access	SNAP	No vehicle	Poverty
Calhoun County	5K	65.5%	8.0%	1.7%	10.2%
Nevada County	8K	54.2%	10.1%	2.3%	20.3%
Dallas County	6K	52.0%	14.9%	7.6%	13.9%
St. Francis County	22K	47.2%	24.3%	13.3%	28.5%
Arkansas County	17K	47.0%	14.9%	8.7%	19.0%
Lee County	8K	44.6%	27.8%	16.7%	39.4%
Lawrence County	16K	38.0%	16.0%	5.2%	20.1%
Phillips County	15K	36.1%	32.1%	17.0%	29.3%
Grant County	18K	35.5%	7.2%	2.6%	13.1%
Howard County	13K	34.8%	9.8%	5.2%	22.5%
Ouachita County	22K	34.7%	14.8%	9.8%	18.9%
Sharp County	18K	34.7%	17.3%	5.0%	16.5%
Crawford County	61K	34.4%	10.2%	4.2%	14.7%
Scott County	10K	34.4%	12.6%	7.3%	18.7%
Lincoln County	13K	33.2%	12.8%	6.7%	15.4%
Pulaski County	400K	33.0%	10.0%	7.2%	16.7%
Searcy County	8K	32.9%	12.6%	5.9%	23.0%
Faulkner County	128K	32.8%	7.1%	4.3%	14.5%
Chicot County	10K	32.6%	16.7%	10.1%	22.6%
Desha County	11K	32.4%	23.3%	14.6%	28.3%
Polk County	19K	32.3%	12.5%	6.4%	15.9%
Hempstead County	20K	31.6%	10.3%	9.4%	20.2%
Saline County	127K	29.8%	3.9%	3.2%	8.8%
Sevier County	16K	29.3%	21.5%	4.4%	17.3%
Cross County	17K	29.2%	10.3%	10.0%	19.7%
Garland County	100K	29.2%	9.0%	5.6%	15.8%
Newton County	7K	28.9%	11.1%	3.0%	15.9%
Monroe County	7K	28.3%	16.1%	14.5%	20.6%
Union County	38K	28.2%	9.4%	6.6%	19.5%
Jackson County	17K	27.4%	19.3%	8.8%	21.7%
Johnson County	26K	27.3%	12.0%	5.4%	19.8%
Miller County	42K	27.1%	15.7%	8.5%	24.6%
Clark County	21K	26.5%	11.7%	6.1%	21.6%
Madison County	17K	26.1%	11.6%	3.9%	14.1%
Jefferson County	65K	26.0%	14.7%	7.5%	18.6%
Stone County	13K	25.0%	17.8%	8.9%	19.3%
Benton County	304K	24.9%	3.9%	2.8%	7.6%
Hot Spring County	33K	24.9%	10.8%	5.3%	15.1%
Drew County	17K	24.1%	16.4%	7.2%	22.4%
Bradley County	10K	23.8%	17.5%	9.3%	19.9%
White County	78K	23.6%	11.5%	5.5%	17.5%
Pope County	64K	23.3%	9.9%	4.5%	16.9%
Montgomery County	9K	23.1%	10.0%	5.3%	22.4%
Pike County	10K	23.1%	12.4%	3.1%	20.7%
Crittenden County	47K	22.5%	16.1%	10.7%	21.0%
Cleveland County	7K	22.1%	13.1%	6.8%	15.8%
Conway County	21K	22.1%	13.6%	7.8%	19.7%
Ashley County	18K	21.8%	13.2%	8.8%	22.1%
Craighead County	113K	21.3%	11.8%	6.4%	20.1%
Lafayette County	6K	21.1%	14.9%	6.2%	22.3%
Boone County	38K	20.9%	8.4%	6.8%	11.7%
Columbia County	22K	19.5%	11.8%	3.4%	21.1%
Poinsett County	23K	19.3%	19.2%	11.5%	20.1%
Greene County	46K	18.0%	14.6%	5.2%	17.4%
Cleburne County	25K	17.4%	8.6%	5.3%	13.9%
Mississippi County	39K	16.9%	19.1%	11.2%	21.1%
Baxter County	42K	16.4%	8.5%	4.6%	15.5%
Carroll County	29K	16.4%	5.2%	5.1%	17.2%
Lonoke County	75K	16.4%	7.1%	4.1%	10.4%
Yell County	20K	16.4%	10.2%	6.5%	15.6%
Logan County	21K	16.2%	9.9%	4.4%	13.9%
Randolph County	19K	16.2%	15.7%	5.4%	22.4%
Clay County	14K	16.1%	10.1%	6.1%	17.2%
Perry County	10K	14.3%	8.7%	4.5%	14.2%
Washington County	257K	14.0%	5.6%	4.1%	14.6%
Fulton County	12K	13.9%	12.8%	4.6%	18.0%
Sebastian County	129K	13.2%	11.6%	6.0%	16.0%
Independence County	38K	12.1%	13.7%	6.5%	20.4%
Van Buren County	16K	10.4%	10.7%	6.4%	19.1%
Marion County	17K	10.0%	11.1%	2.8%	18.0%
Woodruff County	6K	6.7%	19.9%	14.7%	24.1%
Franklin County	17K	4.7%	11.2%	7.2%	18.0%
Prairie County	8K	4.5%	13.5%	6.3%	11.8%
Little River County	12K	3.1%	11.1%	5.2%	15.5%
Izard County	14K	0.9%	14.4%	5.6%	22.3%

Source: USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first. USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first.

What this means for the state

24.9% of Arkansas residents, about 726K people, live in a low-access area.
171 census tracts are USDA food deserts, home to roughly 292K low-income, low-access residents.
10.2% of households receive SNAP, and 5.8% have no vehicle.
Calhoun County has the state's highest low-access share at 65.5%.

USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); SNAP, poverty, and vehicle context is the Census ACS 2024 5-year estimates.

Frequently Asked Questions

What share of Arkansas has low food access?▼

24.9% of Arkansas residents live in low-access areas (population-weighted across the state's tracts), per the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019).

How many food deserts are in Arkansas?▼

171 census tracts in Arkansas are USDA-designated food deserts, both low-access and low-income, home to roughly 292K low-income residents.

What is the SNAP participation rate in Arkansas?▼

Across Arkansas counties, an average of 10.2% of households receive SNAP (Census ACS 2024), though rates vary between urban and rural areas.

Which county in Arkansas has the worst food access?▼

Calhoun County has the highest low-access share in Arkansas at 65.5%, with 8.0% SNAP participation.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service Food Access Research Atlas (2019 edition), 9,228 of roughly 71,700 U.S. census tracts meet the low-income, low-access food-desert threshold. The state and county figures on this page are aggregated from that tract-level data and joined to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 5-Year Estimates, released in December 2025. See our methodology for how the population-weighted shares are computed.

Data current as of 2026-06-23 (most recent source-data vintage).

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