; Map: Axios Visuals
At least a quarter of Arkansans’ personal income comes from the government in all but seven of Arkansas’ 75 counties, according to an Economic Innovation Group analysis .
The big picture: Residents in more than half of America’s counties now draw at least a quarter their total income from the government. In 2000, that was the case in just 10% of counties.
Zoom in: The counties that don’t fall into that stat are mostly ones with some of the state’s most populous cities — Benton, Washington, Pulaski, Craighead, Saline, Lonoke and Faulkner.
- NWA has the lowest rate with 17% of personal income in Washington County and 8.2% of personal income in Benton County coming from government programs.
Between the lines: The vast majority of counties where government support is critical are rural and overwhelmingly vote Republican, The Wall Street Journal notes .
- Many of those counties are in key battleground states this year: Government aid makes up a significant share of income for about 70% of counties in Michigan, Georgia and North Carolina. That number is 60% in Pennsylvania.