Florida County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 67 counties in Florida, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 68.6. 35 counties score high, very high, or extreme.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
Florida Snapshot
67 Counties Scored
68.6 Mean Score
70.2 Median Score
90.3 Gadsden County Most Distressed
40.7 St. Johns County Least Distressed
1 extreme county distress3 very high county distress31 high county distress21 moderate-high county distress7 moderate county distress4 moderate-low county distress
Score Label Distribution Florida County Map
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Low county distress Moderate-low county distress Moderate county distress High county distress Extreme county distress
All 67 Florida counties colored by county distress score range. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How Florida's 67 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Florida Counties
67 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Score Label | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | Gadsden County | 90.3 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 2 | 46 | Hamilton County | 85.2 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 3 | 102 | Highlands County | 82.1 | very high county distress | Labor |
| 4 | 124 | Liberty County | 81.0 | very high county distress | Labor |
| 5 | 153 | Polk County | 79.8 | high county distress | Labor |
| 6 | 166 | Hendry County | 79.1 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 7 | 169 | Jackson County | 79.0 | high county distress | Labor |
| 8 | 175 | Putnam County | 78.9 | high county distress | Labor |
| 9 | 176 | Hardee County | 78.8 | high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 10 | 182 | DeSoto County | 78.5 | high county distress | Labor |
| 11 | 184 | Bradford County | 78.4 | high county distress | Labor |
| 12 | 194 | Dixie County | 78.0 | high county distress | Labor |
| 13 | 200 | Marion County | 77.9 | high county distress | Labor |
| 14 | 211 | Calhoun County | 77.6 | high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 15 | 231 | Duval County | 77.0 | high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 16 | 234 | Columbia County | 76.8 | high county distress | Labor |
| 17 | 237 | Osceola County | 76.8 | high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 18 | 239 | Okeechobee County | 76.7 | high county distress | Labor |
| 19 | 245 | Suwannee County | 76.5 | high county distress | Labor |
| 20 | 282 | Citrus County | 75.5 | high county distress | Labor |
| 21 | 283 | Hernando County | 75.4 | high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 22 | 304 | Lafayette County | 75.0 | high county distress | Labor |
| 23 | 317 | Madison County | 74.8 | high county distress | Labor |
| 24 | 321 | Glades County | 74.7 | high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 25 | 331 | Escambia County | 74.2 | high county distress | Labor |
| 26 | 341 | Volusia County | 74.0 | high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 27 | 357 | Taylor County | 73.6 | high county distress | Labor |
| 28 | 361 | St. Lucie County | 73.5 | high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 29 | 362 | Levy County | 73.5 | high county distress | Labor |
| 30 | 435 | Union County | 71.3 | high county distress | Labor |
| 31 | 440 | Orange County | 71.2 | high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 32 | 460 | Hillsborough County | 70.8 | high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 33 | 466 | Jefferson County | 70.6 | high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 34 | 483 | Holmes County | 70.2 | high county distress | Labor |
| 35 | 484 | Leon County | 70.2 | high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 36 | 493 | Washington County | 69.9 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 37 | 502 | Broward County | 69.9 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 38 | 533 | Pasco County | 69.3 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 39 | 548 | Lee County | 69.0 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 40 | 621 | Baker County | 67.8 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 41 | 645 | Gilchrist County | 67.3 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 42 | 673 | Lake County | 66.9 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 43 | 692 | Alachua County | 66.5 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 44 | 715 | Flagler County | 66.0 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 45 | 786 | Franklin County | 64.5 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 46 | 824 | Clay County | 63.9 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 47 | 847 | Gulf County | 63.5 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 48 | 850 | Brevard County | 63.4 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 49 | 861 | Bay County | 63.2 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 50 | 897 | Pinellas County | 62.6 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 51 | 918 | Charlotte County | 62.2 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 52 | 931 | Indian River County | 62.0 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 53 | 976 | Palm Beach County | 61.3 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 54 | 1,036 | Seminole County | 60.3 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 55 | 1,038 | Manatee County | 60.2 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 56 | 1,048 | Miami-Dade County | 60.0 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 57 | 1,313 | Sarasota County | 55.0 | moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 58 | 1,371 | Okaloosa County | 53.9 | moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 59 | 1,432 | Wakulla County | 52.9 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 60 | 1,438 | Collier County | 52.8 | moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 61 | 1,456 | Martin County | 52.5 | moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 62 | 1,495 | Walton County | 51.9 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 63 | 1,520 | Nassau County | 51.4 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 64 | 1,608 | Monroe County | 49.6 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 65 | 1,646 | Santa Rosa County | 48.9 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 66 | 1,650 | Sumter County | 48.9 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 67 | 2,107 | St. Johns County | 40.7 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using five equal-weighted domains. Each domain averages its member indicators' county ranks, and the composite is the mean of those domain scores. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.
extreme county distress — 1 Florida county
very high county distress — 3 Florida counties
high county distress — 31 Florida counties
moderate-high county distress — 21 Florida counties
moderate county distress — 7 Florida counties
moderate-low county distress — 4 Florida counties
low-moderate county distress — 0 Florida counties
low county distress — 0 Florida counties
very low county distress — 0 Florida counties
exceptionally low county distress — 0 Florida counties