About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Graham County, Arizona, are not working
In Graham County, 29.5% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 88% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 60% of U.S. counties.
What drives Graham County's score
In Graham County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 78.1. Income and the safety net comes next, at 64.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Graham County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Graham County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (65.8, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (11.9%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 78.1 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202667th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working29.5% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
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- 64.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.3% · 202485th percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.9% · 202464th percentile
- People with a disability16.1% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- People without health insurance9.6% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$64,504 · 202456th percentile
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- 61.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.7% · August 202554th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.0% · August 202572nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.0% · second quarter of 202656th percentile
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- 40.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector26.8% · August 202563rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people65.8 · 202517th percentile
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- 38.7 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent11.9% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.6% · fiscal year 202758th percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Graham County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Graham County, 14.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Graham County
Arizona
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Graham County had its largest rise, from 26.3% in 1999 to 34.1% in 2004.
In Graham County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 36.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Graham County, Arizona, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Graham County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 17.1% in 2018 to 14.6% in 2019.
The share of households in Graham County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 12.0% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Graham County, Arizona.
How Graham County has changed
Graham County's population more than doubled to 40,242, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2004 to 2009, reaching 37,525. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Graham County, Arizona.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Graham County doubled to 11,084, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 11,084. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Graham County, Arizona.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.0% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 26.3% | 2024 19.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,086 | 2024 $64,504 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 4.5% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Graham County's history
1881
New county was created from southern Apache County and eastern Pima County on March 10, 1881. Wikipedia
2016
Hail in October 2016 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 38,533, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2021
A flash flood in July 2021 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1966
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Graham County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Graham County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Graham County, six score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Graham County ranks 5th of the eight; Apache County is highest, at 51.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apache County, AZ | 90 | 29.3% | 51.0% |
| Navajo County, AZ | 89 | 22.7% | 45.8% |
| Gila County, AZ | 80 | 19.1% | 43.0% |
| Cochise County, AZ | 71 | 14.5% | 38.4% |
| Pinal County, AZ | 70 | 11.0% | 26.2% |
| Pima County, AZ | 69 | 13.8% | 26.0% |
| Graham County, AZ | 60 | 19.3% | 36.9% |
| Greenlee County, AZ | 28 | 9.8% | 25.4% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Graham County the poorest county in Arizona?
No, Graham County's poverty rate was 19.3% in 2024, 3rd highest of 15 in Arizona (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Apache County, at 29.3%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Graham County ranks 12th of 15 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Graham County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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Southern Arizona Legal Aid (SALA)
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Graham County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Graham County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.