About one in 16 people in Queen Anne's County, Maryland, lives below the poverty line
In Queen Anne's County, 6.1% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 86% of U.S. counties.
What drives Queen Anne's County's score
In Queen Anne's County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 57.6. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 8.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Queen Anne's 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.
Queen Anne's County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 57.6 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 rent19.5% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.4% · fiscal year 202757th percentile
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- 28.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector15.0% · August 202519th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people104.7 · 202538th percentile
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- 22.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202624th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.9% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
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- 19.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.6% · August 202520th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.0% · August 202532nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score27.0% · second quarter of 20266th percentile
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- 8.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line6.1% · 20242nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line6.8% · 20243rd percentile
- People with a disability10.5% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- People without health insurance5.7% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$112,621 · 20242nd 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 Queen Anne's 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 Queen Anne's County, 20.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Queen Anne's County
Maryland
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Queen Anne's County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 15.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Queen Anne's County, Maryland, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 15.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Queen Anne's County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply after its 2010 low, from 4.0% in 2010 to 5.4% in 2011.
The share of households in Queen Anne's County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 7.2%
Low on the chart: 4.0% 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, Queen Anne's County, Maryland.
How Queen Anne's County has changed
Queen Anne's County's population had its largest rise, from 27,904 in 1984 to 33,284 in 1989.
Queen Anne's County's population tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 53,688, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 48,306. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Queen Anne's County, Maryland.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Queen Anne's County doubled to 16,289, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 10,726. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Queen Anne's County, Maryland.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.3% | 2025 3.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 7.1% | 2024 6.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $34,565 | 2024 $112,621 |
The table uses 3.1% for 2025; the score uses 3.3% 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 Queen Anne's County's history
1706
1706, when the county was organized under a sheriff. Wikipedia
1999
A flash flood in September 1999 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 49,874, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Queen Anne's County. FEMA
Queen Anne's County beside its neighbors
All four counties that border Queen Anne's County, in Maryland and Delaware, score higher than it does. Of the group, Queen Anne's County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Caroline County gets the largest, at 27.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kent County, DE | 74 | 10.2% | 26.7% |
| Caroline County, MD | 60 | 11.1% | 27.8% |
| Kent County, MD | 35 | 14.6% | 24.5% |
| Talbot County, MD | 25 | 9.9% | 17.6% |
| Queen Anne's County, MD | 13 | 6.1% | 15.5% |
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 Queen Anne's County the poorest county in Maryland?
No, Queen Anne's County's poverty rate was 6.1% in 2024, 20th highest of 24 in Maryland (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Somerset County, at 20.3%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Queen Anne's County ranks 22nd of 24 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Queen Anne's 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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Maryland Legal Aid
Legal aid
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Civil Justice, Inc.
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 Queen Anne's 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 Queen Anne's County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.