In Greenlee County, Arizona, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in seven dollars of the typical household's income
In Greenlee County, 14.9% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 71% of U.S. counties.
What drives Greenlee County's score
In Greenlee County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 76.7. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 5.0. About one in 27 renters (3.7%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Greenlee 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.
Even so, Greenlee County is worse off than most counties on people with a credit card behind (9.3%, August 2025) and adults 25 to 54 not working (27.8%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 76.7 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.3% · August 202592nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.4% · August 202566th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score46.6% · second quarter of 202671st percentile
-
- 52.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202620th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.8% · 2020 to 202484th percentile
-
- 35.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.3% · August 202564th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people10.7 · 20255th or lower percentile
-
- 20.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.8% · 202420th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.3% · 202414th percentile
- People with a disability15.6% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
- People without health insurance2.9% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$84,148 · 202415th percentile
-
- 5.0 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 rent3.7% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income14.9% · fiscal year 20275th or lower percentile
-
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 Greenlee 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 Greenlee County, 14.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Greenlee County
Arizona
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Greenlee County had its largest rise, from 16.6% in 1999 to 25.9% in 2004.
In Greenlee County, benefit checks' share of income has grown since 1969, reaching 25.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Greenlee County, Arizona, benefit checks' share of income rose from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Greenlee County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2023 to 2024, reaching 5.7%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Greenlee County, Arizona.
How Greenlee County has changed
Greenlee County's population had its largest drop, from 10,204 in 1984 to 7,839 in 1989.
Greenlee County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1974 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 12,353 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Greenlee County, Arizona.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Greenlee County doubled to 5,649, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 4,380. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Greenlee County, Arizona.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.5% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.3% | 2024 9.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $29,241 | 2024 $84,148 |
The table uses 2.9% for 2025; the score uses 3.2% 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 Greenlee County's history
1909
Greenlee County was created in 1909 and formed from part of Graham County. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 15,362. The 2020 Census counted 9,563, 62% of the peak. Census Bureau
-
Since 1966
12 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Greenlee County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Greenlee County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Greenlee County, in Arizona and New Mexico, score higher than it does. Of the group, Greenlee County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Apache County gets the largest, at 51.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apache County, AZ | 90 | 29.3% | 51.0% |
| Hidalgo County, NM | 80 | 24.0% | 35.5% |
| Catron County, NM | 76 | 19.0% | 43.6% |
| Grant County, NM | 74 | 17.3% | 39.7% |
| Cochise County, AZ | 71 | 14.5% | 38.4% |
| 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 Greenlee County the poorest county in Arizona?
No, Greenlee County's poverty rate was 9.8% in 2024, 14th 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, Greenlee County ranks 15th of 15 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Greenlee 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.
-
Southern Arizona Legal Aid (SALA)
Legal aid
-
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 Greenlee 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 Greenlee County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.