Benefit checks make up 40 cents of every dollar of income in Somerset County, Maryland
In Somerset County, 39.8% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 92% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 90% of U.S. counties.
What drives Somerset County's score
In Somerset County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 81.4. About one in three people with a credit file (33.5%, August 2025) has unpaid debt sent to a collector, a higher share than in 83% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 80.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Somerset 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.
Somerset County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (3.6%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a disability (15.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.5% · August 202583rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people220.8 · 202579th percentile
-
- 80.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.6% · August 202580th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.7% · August 202580th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.5% · second quarter of 202678th percentile
-
- 78.1 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 rent21.4% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.9% · fiscal year 202786th percentile
-
- 73.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202677th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.1% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
-
- 61.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.3% · 202488th percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.0% · 202486th percentile
- People with a disability15.1% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- People without health insurance3.6% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$53,022 · 202486th percentile
-
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 Somerset 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 Somerset County, 17.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Somerset County
Maryland
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Somerset County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 16% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Somerset County, Maryland, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 39.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Somerset County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 17.5% in 2012 to 21.6% in 2013.
The share of households in Somerset County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2023 and has since fallen to 24.9%
Low on the chart: 12.5% 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, Somerset County, Maryland.
How Somerset County has changed
Somerset County's population rose by about a third from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25,241, with most of the change between 1984 and 1989
High on the chart: 26,425 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Somerset County, Maryland.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Somerset County rose by about a quarter to 7,051, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 6,963. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Somerset County, Maryland.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 14.7% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.6% | 2024 20.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,443 | 2024 $53,022 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Somerset County's history
1666
Established on August 22, 1666 by Lord Baltimore as the eighth county in the Province of Maryland, formed from the southern part of Kent County. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 26,470. The 2020 Census counted 24,620, 93% of the peak. Census Bureau
-
Since 1972
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Somerset County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Somerset County beside its neighbors
Somerset County scores higher than all three counties that border it, in Maryland and Virginia. Of the group, Somerset County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (39.8%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset County, MD | 90 | 20.3% | 39.8% |
| Wicomico County, MD | 76 | 16.0% | 29.6% |
| Accomack County, VA | 63 | 13.1% | 31.8% |
| Worcester County, MD | 39 | 10.6% | 24.6% |
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 Somerset County the poorest county in Maryland?
Yes, Somerset County's poverty rate was 20.3% in 2024, the highest of 24 counties in Maryland (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Somerset County ranks 2nd of 24 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Somerset 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.
-
Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service (MVLS)
Legal aid
-
Maryland Legal Aid
Legal aid
-
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 Somerset 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 Somerset County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.