In Essex County, Massachusetts, benefit checks make up only 17 cents of every dollar of income
In Essex County, 16.6% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 89% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 62% of U.S. counties.
What drives Essex County's score
In Essex County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 96.7. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 12.6. About one in 36 people (2.8%, 2020 to 2024) has no health insurance, a lower share than in 98% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Essex 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, Essex County is worse off than most counties on rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (32.5%, fiscal year 2027) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (28.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 96.7 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 rent28.4% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income32.5% · fiscal year 202798th percentile
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- 48.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202671st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.7% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
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- 31.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.9% · August 202539th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.2% · August 202534th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.7% · second quarter of 202618th percentile
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- 23.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector16.5% · August 202524th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people75.2 · 202522nd percentile
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- 12.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.3% · 202417th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.9% · 202422nd percentile
- People with a disability12.3% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- People without health insurance2.8% · 2020 to 20241st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$102,044 · 20244th 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 Essex 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 Essex County, 18.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Essex County
Massachusetts
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Essex County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 16.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Essex County, Massachusetts, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 16.6%; 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 Essex County getting SNAP food aid more than doubled to 16.6%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2011 to 2012, reaching 11.7%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Essex County, Massachusetts.
How Essex County has changed
Essex County's population had its largest rise, from 739,086 in 2009 to 779,643 in 2014.
Essex County's population rose 30% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart
High on the chart: 823,938 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Essex County, Massachusetts.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Essex County rose by about a fifth to 326,688, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 304,338. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Essex County, Massachusetts.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.7% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.4% | 2024 9.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $36,967 | 2024 $102,044 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Essex County's history
1989
A thunderstorm in July 1989 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
A flood in May 2006 did $7 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
Lightning in June 2008 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
Lightning in September 2014 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 809,829, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1972
40 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Essex County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Essex County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Essex County, in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, one scores higher. Of the group, Essex County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (16.6%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suffolk County, MA | 44 | 15.5% | 15.2% |
| Essex County, MA | 37 | 9.3% | 16.6% |
| Hillsborough County, NH | 17 | 7.0% | 14.8% |
| Middlesex County, MA | 13 | 7.8% | 9.9% |
| 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 Essex County the poorest county in Massachusetts?
No, Essex County's poverty rate was 9.3% in 2024, 8th 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, Essex County ranks 7th of 14 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Essex 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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Act Lawrence, Inc Formerly Arlington Community Trabajando, Inc
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Centro de Apoyo Familiar (CAF)-MA
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Lawrence Communityworks, Inc.
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Northeast Legal Aid
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 Essex County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.