About one in 13 people in York County, Maine, lives below the poverty line
In York County, 7.5% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 87% of U.S. counties.
What drives York County's score
In York County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 73.0. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 14.0. People with a car or retail loan behind: 2.5%, August 2025, lower than in 91% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in York 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, York County is worse off than most counties on rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (25.9%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 73.0 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 rent19.6% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.9% · fiscal year 202787th percentile
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- 17.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector16.8% · August 202525th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people49.9 · 20259th percentile
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- 16.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202612th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.8% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
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- 14.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.5% · 20245th percentile
- Children below the poverty line7.9% · 20245th percentile
- People with a disability14.3% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- People without health insurance4.8% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$92,098 · 20249th percentile
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- 14.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.8% · August 202523rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.5% · August 20258th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score28.7% · second quarter of 202610th 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 York 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 York County, 22.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
York County
Maine
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In York County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 19.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In York County, Maine, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 19.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in York County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 8.1%
Biggest drop: 2016 to 2017, reaching 11.3%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, York County, Maine.
How York County has changed
York County's population doubled to 220,143, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 139,572. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, York County, Maine.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in York County rose by about a third to 79,603, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
High on the chart: 79,603 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, York County, Maine.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.8% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 7.9% | 2024 7.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $30,947 | 2024 $92,098 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in York County's history
1636
Permanently established in 1636, one of Maine's earliest colonial settlements and one of the oldest counties in the United States. Wikipedia
1947
Great Fires of 1947 burned 4,500 acres. Wikipedia
1996
A flash flood in October 1996 did $10.2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A dust devil in May 2003 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
A thunderstorm in September 2006 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A flood in April 2007 did $25 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 211,972, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1970
42 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered York County, 25 of them for flooding. FEMA
York County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border York County, in Maine and New Hampshire, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, York County ranks 3rd of the six; Oxford County is highest, at 32.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oxford County, ME | 45 | 11.3% | 32.5% |
| Strafford County, NH | 22 | 8.6% | 17.3% |
| Carroll County, NH | 13 | 7.9% | 20.8% |
| York County, ME | 12 | 7.5% | 19.5% |
| Cumberland County, ME | 8 | 8.0% | 15.4% |
| Rockingham County, NH | 7 | 5.3% | 12.3% |
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 York County the poorest county in Maine?
No, York County's poverty rate was 7.5% in 2024, the lowest of 16 in Maine (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Washington County, at 16.2%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, York County ranks 13th of 16 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in York 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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Pine Tree Legal Assistance
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 York County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.