In Dixie County, Florida, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2018
In 2024, 42 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 91% of U.S. counties.
What drives Dixie County's score
In Dixie County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 92.2. About one in four people (25.0%, 2020 to 2024) has a disability, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 88.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Dixie 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.
Dixie County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (14.3%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (97.3, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 92.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line22.1% · 202492nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line29.1% · 202490th percentile
- People with a disability25.0% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance17.1% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$50,887 · 202490th percentile
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- 88.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202692nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.9% · 2020 to 202484th percentile
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- 87.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.0% · August 202590th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.5% · August 202585th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score52.5% · second quarter of 202685th percentile
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- 59.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.9% · August 202583rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people97.3 · 202534th percentile
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- 54.7 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 rent14.3% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.6% · fiscal year 202781st 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 Dixie 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 Dixie County, 23.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Dixie County
Florida
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Dixie County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Florida
In Dixie County, Florida, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 42.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Dixie County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 29.8% in 2019 to 22.1% in 2020.
The share of households in Dixie County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen to 17.2%
Low on the chart: 12.1% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Dixie County, Florida.
How Dixie County has changed
Dixie County's population tripled to 17,614, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1989 to 1994, reaching 12,021. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Dixie County, Florida.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Dixie County rose by about a quarter to 2,989, the highest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2005 to 2010, reaching 2,381. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Dixie County, Florida.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.5% | 2025 5.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 25.3% | 2024 22.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $14,637 | 2024 $50,887 |
The table uses 5.1% for 2025; the score uses 6.0% 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 Dixie County's history
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 16,759, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2021
A flood in August 2021 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
42 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Dixie County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Dixie County beside its neighbors
Dixie County scores higher than all four counties that border it. Of the group, Dixie County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (42.3%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dixie County, FL | 91 | 22.1% | 42.3% |
| Lafayette County, FL | 90 | 19.6% | 37.4% |
| Levy County, FL | 87 | 17.6% | 32.5% |
| Taylor County, FL | 87 | 19.9% | 40.3% |
| Gilchrist County, FL | 75 | 14.1% | 30.6% |
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 Dixie County the poorest county in Florida?
No, Dixie County's poverty rate was 22.1% in 2024, 3rd highest of 67 in Florida (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Hamilton County, at 25.3%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Dixie County ranks 8th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Dixie 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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Three Rivers Legal Services
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 Dixie County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.