In Navajo County, Arizona, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2019
In 2024, 46 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 89% of U.S. counties.
What drives Navajo County's score
In Navajo County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 97.3. About two in five adults aged 25 to 54 (39.0%, 2020 to 2024) aren't working, a higher share than in 97% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 85.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Navajo 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.
Navajo County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (65.9, 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.
- 97.3 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202696th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working39.0% · 2020 to 202497th percentile
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- 85.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line22.7% · 202493rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line31.5% · 202493rd percentile
- People with a disability17.5% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
- People without health insurance15.9% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,293 · 202484th percentile
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- 82.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.8% · August 202570th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind13.4% · August 202598th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.9% · second quarter of 202679th percentile
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- 55.8 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 income27.9% · fiscal year 202793rd percentile
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- 49.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.9% · August 202581st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people65.9 · 202517th 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 Navajo 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 Navajo County, 20.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Navajo County
Arizona
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Navajo County, benefit checks have brought in more than pay since 2019
In Navajo County, Arizona, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 45.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Navajo County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 20.9% in 2011 to 23.5% in 2012.
The share of households in Navajo County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 22.2%
Low on the chart: 17.5% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Navajo County, Arizona.
How Navajo County has changed
Navajo County's population more than doubled to 109,516, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 96,100. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Navajo County, Arizona.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Navajo County rose 36% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2000 to 2005, reaching 27,639. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Navajo County, Arizona.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.8% | 2025 6.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 29.9% | 2024 22.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,761 | 2024 $54,293 |
The table uses 6.4% for 2025; the score uses 6.9% 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 Navajo County's history
1881
Hashknife Outfit (Aztec Land and Cattle Company) became one of largest cattle ranches to exist, made Holbrook its headquarters. Wikipedia
1895
Split from Apache County on March 21, 1895; first county sheriff was Commodore Perry Owens. Wikipedia
2009
Lightning in September 2009 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 107,449. The 2020 Census counted 106,717, 99% of the peak. Census Bureau
2013
Lightning in July 2013 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A flood in March 2023 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1970
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Navajo County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Navajo County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Navajo County, in Arizona and Utah, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Navajo County ranks 2nd of the six; 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% |
| Coconino County, AZ | 66 | 15.2% | 20.8% |
| San Juan County, UT | 62 | 19.5% | 29.6% |
| Graham County, AZ | 60 | 19.3% | 36.9% |
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 Navajo County the poorest county in Arizona?
No, Navajo County's poverty rate was 22.7% in 2024, 2nd 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, Navajo County ranks 2nd of 15 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Navajo 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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DNA-People's Legal Services
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 Navajo 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 Navajo County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.