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Cliff-Zone Families
100,240
Total Wage Suppression
$73.0M
State Avg Cliff Zone
21.4%
The benefits cliff — sometimes called the welfare cliff or cliff effect — occurs when families lose public benefits faster than they can replace them through increased earnings. In Arkansas, an estimated 100,240 families across 75 counties earn between 100–200% of the Federal Poverty Level, where benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, childcare subsidies, and housing assistance phase out. The CLIFF Index measures this exposure at the county level, including peak marginal effective tax rates, wage suppression estimates, and advancement thresholds. Click any county below for the full diagnostic report.
| CountyCounty↕ | PopulationPopulation↕ | Cliff Zone %Cliff Zone %↕ | Families AffectedFamilies↓ | Wage SuppressionWage Gap↕ | Peak METRPeak METR↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pulaski County | 399,818 | 18.5% | 10,864 | $7.9M | 177% |
| Benton County | 303,632 | 15.6% | 8,541 | $6.2M | 224% |
| Washington County | 256,765 | 19.9% | 8,256 | $6.0M | 224% |
| Sebastian County | 128,900 | 22.2% | 4,986 | $3.6M | 177% |
| Faulkner County | 127,717 | 19.3% | 3,822 | $2.8M | 177% |
| Craighead County | 113,249 | 19.6% | 3,722 | $2.7M | 177% |
| Saline County | 127,479 | 15.9% | 3,455 | $2.5M | 177% |
| Garland County | 100,035 | 22.4% | 3,080 | $2.2M | 177% |
| White County | 77,838 | 23.3% | 2,820 | $2.1M | 177% |
| Lonoke County | 75,272 | 18.4% | 2,466 | $1.8M | 177% |
| Pope County | 64,131 | 23.5% | 2,350 | $1.7M | 177% |
| Crawford County | 61,139 | 22.4% | 2,276 | $1.7M | 177% |
| Crittenden County | 47,266 | 27.3% | 2,146 | $1.6M | 202% |
| Jefferson County | 64,802 | 26.1% | 2,127 | $1.5M | 177% |
| Greene County | 46,432 | 23.2% | 1,797 | $1.3M | 177% |
| Boone County | 38,138 | 26.6% | 1,508 | $1.1M | 177% |
| Miller County | 42,360 | 22.9% | 1,442 | $1.0M | 177% |
| Baxter County | 42,407 | 23.4% | 1,403 | $1.0M | 177% |
| Independence County | 38,175 | 21.6% | 1,347 | $981K | 177% |
| Mississippi County | 39,126 | 20.2% | 1,214 | $884K | 177% |
| Johnson County | 26,003 | 29.3% | 1,165 | $848K | 177% |
| Hot Spring County | 33,180 | 23.1% | 1,133 | $825K | 177% |
| Yell County | 20,134 | 28.2% | 1,046 | $761K | 177% |
| Union County | 37,900 | 19.6% | 984 | $716K | 177% |
| Carroll County | 28,626 | 24.6% | 882 | $642K | 177% |
| Logan County | 21,277 | 25.1% | 861 | $627K | 177% |
| Madison County | 17,329 | 27.2% | 857 | $624K | 224% |
| Cleburne County | 25,226 | 26.6% | 853 | $621K | 177% |
| Ouachita County | 22,085 | 25.9% | 838 | $610K | 177% |
| Polk County | 19,361 | 29.8% | 814 | $593K | 177% |
| Poinsett County | 22,543 | 25.1% | 801 | $583K | 177% |
| Sharp County | 17,773 | 33.2% | 754 | $549K | 177% |
| Conway County | 21,054 | 24.3% | 745 | $542K | 177% |
| Randolph County | 18,838 | 26.1% | 742 | $540K | 177% |
| Marion County | 17,228 | 26.9% | 717 | $522K | 177% |
| Cross County | 16,543 | 24.1% | 706 | $514K | 177% |
| Lawrence County | 16,238 | 28.3% | 706 | $514K | 177% |
| Columbia County | 22,349 | 23.2% | 687 | $500K | 177% |
| Van Buren County | 15,998 | 27.3% | 683 | $497K | 177% |
| Arkansas County | 16,515 | 24.1% | 670 | $488K | 177% |
| Jackson County | 16,712 | 28.3% | 643 | $468K | 177% |
| Hempstead County | 19,508 | 24.8% | 639 | $465K | 177% |
| Clark County | 21,125 | 20.4% | 637 | $464K | 177% |
| Sevier County | 15,712 | 29.1% | 637 | $464K | 177% |
| Franklin County | 17,326 | 23.7% | 613 | $446K | 177% |
| St. Francis County | 22,400 | 24.4% | 588 | $428K | 177% |
| Drew County | 17,046 | 25.1% | 550 | $400K | 177% |
| Ashley County | 18,429 | 26.2% | 542 | $395K | 177% |
| Desha County | 10,786 | 30.4% | 533 | $388K | 177% |
| Howard County | 12,583 | 22.7% | 532 | $387K | 177% |
| Little River County | 11,821 | 26.8% | 521 | $379K | 177% |
| Clay County | 14,280 | 25.0% | 517 | $376K | 177% |
| Scott County | 9,816 | 29.9% | 483 | $352K | 177% |
| Chicot County | 9,765 | 28.8% | 430 | $313K | 177% |
| Perry County | 10,101 | 26.0% | 429 | $312K | 177% |
| Stone County | 12,568 | 30.9% | 420 | $306K | 177% |
| Newton County | 7,112 | 28.4% | 402 | $293K | 177% |
| Phillips County | 15,450 | 26.2% | 401 | $292K | 177% |
| Fulton County | 12,302 | 27.5% | 394 | $287K | 177% |
| Grant County | 18,242 | 14.7% | 391 | $285K | 177% |
| Izard County | 14,009 | 26.3% | 370 | $269K | 177% |
| Lincoln County | 12,950 | 21.0% | 334 | $243K | 177% |
| Montgomery County | 8,553 | 25.8% | 325 | $237K | 177% |
| Searcy County | 7,859 | 29.8% | 322 | $234K | 177% |
| Pike County | 10,115 | 21.0% | 300 | $218K | 177% |
| Bradley County | 10,208 | 26.7% | 287 | $209K | 177% |
| Prairie County | 8,064 | 27.6% | 271 | $197K | 177% |
| Nevada County | 8,159 | 22.5% | 231 | $168K | 177% |
| Cleveland County | 7,453 | 22.5% | 229 | $167K | 177% |
| Dallas County | 6,242 | 26.3% | 217 | $158K | 177% |
| Monroe County | 6,589 | 24.5% | 197 | $143K | 177% |
| Lafayette County | 6,136 | 22.8% | 195 | $142K | 177% |
| Woodruff County | 6,026 | 21.8% | 143 | $104K | 177% |
| Lee County | 8,359 | 17.0% | 127 | $92K | 177% |
| Calhoun County | 4,704 | 21.2% | 124 | $90K | 177% |
75 of 75 counties shown. Click any county for full diagnostic.