About one in 10 people in Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, lives below the poverty line
In Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, 9.6% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 81% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 52% of U.S. counties.
What drives Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region's score
In Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 80.6. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 22.6. The typical household earns $89,230 a year (2024), more than in 88% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Southeastern Connecticut 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.
Even so, Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region is worse off than most counties on rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (25.6%, fiscal year 2027) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (22.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.6 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 rent22.5% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.6% · fiscal year 202785th percentile
-
- 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
-
- 50.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202674th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.9% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
-
- 38.4 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 people81.2 · 202526th percentile
-
- 22.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.6% · 202419th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.2% · 202428th percentile
- People with a disability14.8% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
- People without health insurance4.7% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$89,230 · 202411th 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 Southeastern Connecticut 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 Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, 19.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region
Connecticut
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 22.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 6.1% in 2010 to 7.8% in 2011.
The share of households in Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region getting SNAP food aid more than doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 12.4%
High on the chart: 12.6% in 2015. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut.
How Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region has changed
The number of jobs located in Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region held about level from 2024 to 2025.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Jobs located in the countyBLS QCEW | 2024 127,106 | 2025 128,313 |
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.5% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 7.0% | 2024 9.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $36,422 | 2024 $89,230 |
The table uses 3.9% for 2025; the score uses 4.8% 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.
Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, in Connecticut and Rhode Island, one scores higher. Of the group, Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (22.2%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capitol Planning Region, CT | 51 | 10.4% | 17.1% |
| Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT | 47 | 9.6% | 22.2% |
| Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT | 35 | 7.7% | 21.8% |
| Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT | 35 | 7.2% | 15.8% |
| Washington County, RI | 10 | 7.8% | 17.3% |
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 Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region the poorest county in Connecticut?
No, Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region's poverty rate was 9.6% in 2024, 5th highest 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, Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region ranks 5th of 9 in the state.
Questions about Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut
What is the population of Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut?
282,602 people in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis's count.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Southeastern Connecticut 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.
-
Connecticut Legal Services (CLS)
Legal aid
-
Statewide Legal Services of Connecticut
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 Southeastern Connecticut 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 Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.