During the 19th century, Arkansas's economic growth was hindered by credit problems. When the state's two central banks, the Arkansas State Bank and the Real Estate Bank, failed during the 1840s, the government defaulted on bonds issued by the latter and amended the constitution to prohibit all banking in Arkansas. Although banking was restored after the Civil War (1861–65), the state defaulted on its obligations once more in 1877, this time following a decision by the Arkansas supreme court that $10 million worth of railroad bonds issued during Reconstruction were unconstitutional. Not until 1917 did New York banks again accept Arkansas securities.

Cotton dominated Arkansas's agricultural economy until well into the 20th century, when rice, soybeans, poultry, and fish farming diversified the output. Coal mining began in the 1870s, bauxite mining near the turn of the century, and oil extraction in the 1920s; lumbering developed in the last quarter of the 19th century, reached its peak about 1909, and then declined until the 1920s, when reforestation started. Industrialization was limited, however, and resources were generally shipped out of state for processing. Not until the 1950s did Arkansas enjoy significant success in attracting industry, thanks in large part to the efforts of Winthrop Rockefeller. Although the Little Rock integration crisis of 1957 was a severe setback to industrial growth in its own Pulaski County the following year, development resumed during the following decades.

By the 1990s, Arkansas's principal industries had become manufacturing, dominated by lumber and wood products companies; agriculture; forestry; and tourism. Fifty-seven Fortune 500 parent firms are found in Arkansas, including Wal-Mart Stores, Tyson Foods, Dillard Department Stores, Beverly Enterprises, and Alltel. Other important corporations include Jacuzzi, Riceland Foods, Maybelline, Whirlpool, International Paper, American Greetings, and Georgia Pacific. Stephens Inc., in Little Rock, is the largest off-Wall Street investment firm in the country. Growth in state gross product rose to 6% in 1999, but fell to 2.8% in 2000 and 1.7% in 2001. Contributing to Arkansas's gross state product of $67.9 billion in 2001 were manufacturing, $13 billion (down 9.9% from its peak in 1999); general services, $11.5 billion (up 28.7% from 1997); and government, $8.9 billion (up 22% from 1997). In 2001, Arkansas ranked 34th among the states in total gross state product, 48th in per capita income ($22,887) and 4th in personal bankruptcy filings.