In Pinal County, Arizona, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in four dollars of the typical household's income
In Pinal County, 25.4% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is higher than in 85% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 70% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pinal County's score
In Pinal County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 75.2. Bankruptcy filings ran at 239.3 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 83% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 66.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pinal 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.
Pinal County does better than most counties on two measures: median household income ($81,817, 2024) and children below the poverty line (12.9%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 75.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.7% · August 202566th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people239.3 · 202583rd percentile
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- 66.4 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 rent17.7% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.4% · fiscal year 202785th percentile
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- 64.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202678th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.7% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
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- 61.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.3% · August 202576th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.0% · August 202561st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.2% · second quarter of 202646th percentile
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- 41.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.0% · 202430th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.9% · 202427th percentile
- People with a disability17.2% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- People without health insurance10.9% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$81,817 · 202417th 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 Pinal 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 Pinal County, 21.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pinal County
Arizona
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Pinal County had its largest rise, from 19.2% in 1989 to 25.1% in 1994.
In Pinal County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 26.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Pinal County, Arizona, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Pinal County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 9.6% in 2010 to 10.8% in 2011.
The share of households in Pinal County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 10.8%
Low on the chart: 8.7% 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, Pinal County, Arizona.
How Pinal County has changed
Pinal County's population had its largest rise, from 219,472 in 2004 to 349,830 in 2009.
Pinal County's population grew to about eight times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 513,862, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 89,495. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pinal County, Arizona.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Pinal County more than doubled to 79,977, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 79,977. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pinal County, Arizona.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.2% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.4% | 2024 11.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,491 | 2024 $81,817 |
The table uses 4.4% for 2025; the score uses 4.9% 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 Pinal County's history
1875
Pinal County was carved out of neighboring Maricopa County and Pima County on February 1, 1875. Wikipedia
1988
A thunderstorm in August 1988 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1993
A thunderstorm in September 1993 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A flash flood in August 2003 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
A flash flood in September 2006 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 425,264, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1966
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pinal County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pinal County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Pinal County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Pinal County ranks 3rd of the five; Gila County is highest, at 43.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gila County, AZ | 80 | 19.1% | 43.0% |
| Pinal County, AZ | 70 | 11.0% | 26.2% |
| Pima County, AZ | 69 | 13.8% | 26.0% |
| Graham County, AZ | 60 | 19.3% | 36.9% |
| Maricopa County, AZ | 56 | 10.4% | 16.1% |
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 Pinal County the poorest county in Arizona?
No, Pinal County's poverty rate was 11.0% in 2024, 12th 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, Pinal County ranks 9th of 15 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pinal 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.
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 Pinal County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.