About one in nine people with a credit file in Dukes County, Massachusetts, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Dukes County, 10.8% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 90% of U.S. counties.
What drives Dukes County's score
In Dukes County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 51.7. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 3.4. Bankruptcy filings ran at 24 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Dukes 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, Dukes County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.6%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 51.7 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202688th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.7% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
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- 34.0 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 rent9.2% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.4% · fiscal year 202757th percentile
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- 25.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.5% · August 202550th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.2% · August 202519th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score26.7% · second quarter of 20266th percentile
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- 8.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.5% · 202411th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.7% · 202416th percentile
- People with a disability11.1% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- People without health insurance2.1% · 2020 to 20240th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$112,733 · 20242nd percentile
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- 3.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector10.8% · August 20255th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people24 · 20251st 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 Dukes 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 Dukes County, 26.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Dukes County
Massachusetts
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Dukes County had its largest rise, from 9.2% in 2004 to 12.4% in 2009.
In Dukes County, pay from work still brings in more than three times as much as benefit checks, with little change in benefit checks' share since 1969
In Dukes County, Massachusetts, benefit checks' share of income rose by about a third from 1969 to 2024, reaching 13.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Dukes County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 5.5% in 2022 to 7.6% in 2023.
The share of households in Dukes County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2023 and has since fallen to 6.6%
Low on the chart: 2.0% in 2013. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Dukes County, Massachusetts.
How Dukes County has changed
Dukes County's population had its largest rise, from 16,373 in 2009 to 18,638 in 2014.
Dukes County's population more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21,061, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2004 to 2009, reaching 16,373. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Dukes County, Massachusetts.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Dukes County nearly doubled to 9,084, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 9,084. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Dukes County, Massachusetts.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.1% | 2025 5.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 5.7% | 2024 8.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $29,126 | 2024 $112,733 |
The table uses 5.3% for 2025; the score uses 5.6% 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 Dukes County's history
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 20,600, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1972
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Dukes County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Dukes County beside its neighbors
All three counties that border Dukes County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Dukes County ranks 3rd of the four; Bristol County is highest, at 23.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol County, MA | 51 | 10.2% | 23.3% |
| Barnstable County, MA | 32 | 8.6% | 20.2% |
| Nantucket County, MA | 22 | 6.5% | 6.9% |
| Dukes County, MA | 9 | 8.5% | 13.8% |
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 Dukes County the poorest county in Massachusetts?
No, Dukes County's poverty rate was 8.5% in 2024, 10th highest of 14 in Massachusetts (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Hampden County, at 16.0%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Dukes County ranks 14th of 14 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Dukes 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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South Coastal Counties Legal Services (SCCLS)
Legal aid
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MassLegalHelp.org
Legal help website
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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 Dukes County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.