NWA residents are (a little) less financially stressed
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Northwest Arkansas is experiencing stable economic distress compared to past years, meaning it's not significantly increasing or decreasing, according to new data.
Why it matters: The latest update of the Distressed Community Index, from the Economic Innovation Group, shows large parts of the country are becoming more vibrant.
How it works: The index is based on seven factors pulled from U.S. Census Bureau data; it aims to capture in a single number whether a given area is rich with economic opportunity or faltering.
- Those factors include the share of unemployed adults, the housing vacancy rate and growth in the number of businesses.
- The latest edition is based on data from 2017 to 2021.
By the numbers: Benton County's "economic distress score" came in at 4.2 in the latest report, down from 15.9 in the group's earliest calculations, which were based on 2011-2015 data.
- Washington County's score also decreased, though not as much, dropping from 25.7 to 22.
The big picture: The Southeast has become distinctly more prosperous in just a few years — part of a broader geographic shift of economic distress in the U.S.
- The share of people living in prosperous communities has risen most in the mountainous states of the West — Idaho, Montana and Utah, in particular.
- By contrast, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and New York state showed significant growth in share of population living in distressed ZIP codes.
The bottom line: A rising tide may lift all boats, but some communities' boats are rising faster than others.