In Sumter County, Florida, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2008
In 2024, 35 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.
Less distressed than 57% of U.S. counties.
What drives Sumter County's score
In Sumter County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 88.2. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 17.7. About one in four people (26.9%, Q2 2026) has a subprime credit score, a lower share than in 93% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Sumter 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.
Even so, Sumter County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (8.0%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (30.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 88.2 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year8.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202698th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.9% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
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- 63.0 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 rent30.6% · 2020 to 202497th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.7% · fiscal year 202728th percentile
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- 37.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.8% · 202413th percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.3% · 202465th percentile
- People with a disability18.8% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
- People without health insurance5.2% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$85,035 · 202414th percentile
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- 19.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.7% · August 202517th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people74.6 · 202522nd percentile
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- 17.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.1% · August 202511th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.2% · August 202535th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score26.9% · second quarter of 20266th 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 Sumter 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 Sumter County, 57.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Sumter County
Florida
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Sumter County had its largest rise, from 34.8% in 2004 to 45.6% in 2009.
In Sumter County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Florida
In Sumter County, Florida, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Sumter County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 9.6% in 2009 to 5.9% in 2010.
The share of households in Sumter County getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 5.7%, with its low point on the chart in 2018
Low on the chart: 4.8% in 2018. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Sumter County, Florida.
How Sumter County has changed
Sumter County's population had its largest rise in the last span, from 126,290 in 2019 to 154,693 in 2024.
Sumter County's population grew to more than ten times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 154,693, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 23,318. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Sumter County, Florida.
The number of jobs located in Sumter County had its largest rise in the last span, from 31,466 in 2020 to 41,918 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Sumter County grew to about seven times its 1990 size in 2025, reaching 41,918, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 6,866. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Sumter County, Florida.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.9% | 2025 6.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.7% | 2024 8.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,208 | 2024 $85,035 |
The table uses 6.8% for 2025; the score uses 8.0% 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 Sumter County's history
1968
A tornado in November 1968 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1997
Lightning in September 1997 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A tornado in February 2007 did $62 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 129,752, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1968
33 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Sumter County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Sumter County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Sumter County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Sumter County ranks 2nd of the seven; Citrus County is highest, at 40.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polk County, FL | 91 | 13.4% | 28.2% |
| Marion County, FL | 89 | 14.3% | 34.3% |
| Citrus County, FL | 87 | 13.5% | 40.9% |
| Hernando County, FL | 86 | 10.4% | 33.5% |
| Pasco County, FL | 75 | 10.7% | 23.8% |
| Lake County, FL | 72 | 9.0% | 27.3% |
| Sumter County, FL | 42 | 8.8% | 35.0% |
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 Sumter County the poorest county in Florida?
No, Sumter County's poverty rate was 8.8% in 2024, 63rd 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, Sumter County ranks 66th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Sumter 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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Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida (CLSMF)
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 Sumter County · 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 Sumter County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.