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. Social Security was the largest, totaling $12.46 billion, equating to $4,091 per capita and making up 32.7% of total transfers.
Medicare was the second largest contributor in Arkansas in 2022, accounting for $8.94 billion, averaging $2,935 per capita, and represented 23.5% of transfers in the state. Medicaid transfers provided another $8.93 billion, averaging $2,932 per capita and comprising 23.5% of government support, making them the third largest contributors.
Statewide, including all transfer types, government transfer payments totaled $38.05 billion, and accounted for 23.7% of residents’ total income, with an average of $12,493 per resident.
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 17.7% of the population aged 65 and older, Arkansas has a significant demand for programs like Social Security and Medicare. The total per capita income in Arkansas, excluding government transfers was $40,124.9, which is noticeably below the county's total income of $52,618, emphasizing the role of government transfers in overall income.
When comparing 2022 to the previous year, Arkansas saw a decrease in its Income Maintenance transfer dependency by 0.4%.
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 Arkansas, reliance on government transfers has similarly increased from 11.4% (or $1,950 per capita) in 1970 to 23.7% (or $12,493 per capita) in 2022, reflecting broader national trends.
According to the Economic Innovation Group’s analysis, these trends are not merely short-term responses to economic pressures but rather reflect a profound, long-term transformation in how government support is integrated into American life. The study illustrates that structural shifts—from rising healthcare expenses and demographic changes to stagnant wages—have significantly increased dependency on government transfers.
| County | Rank | Dependency on Transfers (%) | % Population 65+ | Social Security Transfers (%) | Medicare Transfers (%) | Medicaid Transfers (%) | Income Maintenance Transfers (%) | Per Capita Transfers ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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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