In Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, benefit checks make up only 7 cents of every dollar of income
In Western Connecticut Planning Region, 7.4% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 59% of U.S. counties.
What drives Western Connecticut Planning Region's score
In Western Connecticut Planning Region, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 76.1. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 12.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Western 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, Western Connecticut Planning Region is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (25.9%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 76.1 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 rent25.9% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.0% · fiscal year 202762nd 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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- 43.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202661st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.9% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
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- 39.2 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 people84.7 · 202527th percentile
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- 12.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.8% · 20247th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.0% · 20249th percentile
- People with a disability9.5% · 2020 to 20243rd percentile
- People without health insurance7.2% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$130,842 · 20240th 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 Western 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 Western Connecticut Planning Region, 17.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Western Connecticut Planning Region
Connecticut
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Western Connecticut Planning Region rose most sharply from its first year (5.1% in 1969) to 7.5% in 1974.
In Western Connecticut Planning Region, benefit checks' share of income has risen by about half since 1969, reaching 7.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about seven times as much as benefit checks
In Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, benefit checks' share of income rose by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 7.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Western Connecticut Planning Region getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 8.5% in 2021 to 6.4% in 2022.
The share of households in Western Connecticut Planning Region getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 4.6% 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, Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut.
How Western Connecticut Planning Region has changed
The number of jobs located in Western Connecticut Planning Region held about level from 2024 to 2025.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Jobs located in the countyBLS QCEW | 2024 287,189 | 2025 289,915 |
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.5% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 6.6% | 2024 7.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $45,517 | 2024 $130,842 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 Western Connecticut Planning Region's history
2013
2013, established to replace Connecticut's counties as county-equivalent. Wikipedia
Western Connecticut Planning Region beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Western Connecticut Planning Region, in Connecticut and New York, three score higher. Of the group, Western Connecticut Planning Region gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Naugatuck Valley Planning Region gets the largest, at 20.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, CT | 61 | 11.4% | 11.1% |
| Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT | 58 | 12.5% | 20.0% |
| Northwest Hills Planning Region, CT | 42 | 8.6% | 17.0% |
| Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT | 40 | 7.8% | 7.4% |
| Dutchess County, NY | 32 | 8.4% | 18.9% |
| Westchester County, NY | 27 | 8.7% | 10.1% |
| Putnam County, NY | 20 | 6.8% | 14.6% |
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 Western Connecticut Planning Region the poorest county in Connecticut?
No, Western Connecticut Planning Region's poverty rate was 7.8% in 2024, 7th 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, Western Connecticut Planning Region ranks 7th of 9 in the state.
Questions about Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut
What is the population of Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut?
637,013 people in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis's count.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Western 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.
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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 Western 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 Western Connecticut Planning Region comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.