About one in 14 people in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, Connecticut, lives below the poverty line
In Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, 7.2% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 64% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region's score
In Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 71.5. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 6.1. About one in 30 people (3.3%, 2020 to 2024) has no health insurance, a lower share than in 96% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region: 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.
Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 71.6 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent22.2% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.8% · fiscal year 202769th percentile
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- 51.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this state; scored at the national median · August 202551st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this state; scored at the national median · August 202552nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit scorenot published for this state; scored at the national median50th percentile
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- 42.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collectornot published for this state; scored at the national median · August 202550th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people95.9 · 202534th percentile
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- 35.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202657th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.4% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
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- 6.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.2% · 20244th percentile
- Children below the poverty line7.3% · 20244th percentile
- People with a disability11.7% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- People without health insurance3.3% · 2020 to 20243rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$101,937 · 20245th 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 Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region 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 Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, 22.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region
Connecticut
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 15.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, Connecticut, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 15.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 4.7% in 2012 to 5.8% in 2013.
The share of households in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 3.2% 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, Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, Connecticut.
How Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region has changed
The number of jobs located in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region held about level from 2024 to 2025.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Jobs located in the countyBLS QCEW | 2024 73,682 | 2025 74,367 |
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.9% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 4.7% | 2024 7.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $41,596 | 2024 $101,937 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 4.3% 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 Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region's history
2013
2013, established to replace Connecticut's counties as county-equivalent. Wikipedia
Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region beside its neighbors
All three counties that border Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region score higher than it does. Of the group, Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region gets the largest, at 22.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT | 55 | 11.5% | 20.0% |
| Capitol Planning Region, CT | 51 | 10.4% | 17.1% |
| Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT | 47 | 9.6% | 22.2% |
| Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT | 35 | 7.2% | 15.8% |
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 Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region the poorest county in Connecticut?
No, Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region's poverty rate was 7.2% in 2024, the lowest of 9 in Connecticut (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, at 12.5%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region ranks 9th of 9 in the state.
Questions about Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, Connecticut
What is the population of Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, Connecticut?
177,540 people in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis's count.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region
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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Connecticut Legal Services (CLS)
Legal aid
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Statewide Legal Services of Connecticut
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 Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region · 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 Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.