In Nantucket County, Massachusetts, benefit checks make up only 7 cents of every dollar of income
In Nantucket County, 6.9% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 77% of U.S. counties.
What drives Nantucket County's score
In Nantucket County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 66.3. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 11.4. Bankruptcy filings ran at 13.8 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Nantucket 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, Nantucket County is worse off than most counties on rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (36.5%, fiscal year 2027) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (8.1%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 66.3 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 rent16.1% · 2020 to 202437th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income36.5% · fiscal year 2027top 5%
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- 59.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year8.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.4% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
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- 17.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.4% · August 202531st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.6% · August 20259th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score28.8% · second quarter of 202610th percentile
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- 13.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line6.5% · 20245th or lower percentile
- Children below the poverty line6.6% · 20245th or lower percentile
- People with a disability9.7% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- People without health insurance7.8% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$117,877 · 20245th or lower percentile
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- 11.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.7% · August 202517th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people13.8 · 20255th or lower 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 Nantucket 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 Nantucket County, 16.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Nantucket County
Massachusetts
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Nantucket County had its largest drop, from 11.3% in 1979 to 8.4% in 1984.
In Nantucket County, pay from work still brings in about nine times as much as benefit checks, and benefit checks' share of income is smaller than in 1969
In Nantucket County, Massachusetts, benefit checks' share of income fell by about a quarter from 1969 to 2024, reaching 6.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Nantucket County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise in the last span, from 6.0% in 2023 to 10.0% in 2024.
The share of households in Nantucket County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2020, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 0.8% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Nantucket County, Massachusetts.
How Nantucket County has changed
Nantucket County's population had its largest rise, from 7,171 in 1994 to 9,213 in 1999.
Nantucket County's population grew to about four times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 14,670, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 5,247. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Nantucket County, Massachusetts.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Nantucket County more than doubled to 8,675, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 8,675. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Nantucket County, Massachusetts.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.2% | 2025 7.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 3.7% | 2024 6.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $38,894 | 2024 $117,877 |
The table uses 7.2% for 2025; the score uses 8.1% 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 Nantucket County's history
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 14,255, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1972
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Nantucket County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Nantucket County beside its neighbors
Nantucket County scores higher than all one counties that border it.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 Nantucket County the poorest county in Massachusetts?
No, Nantucket County's poverty rate was 6.5% in 2024, 13th 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, Nantucket County ranks 11th of 14 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Nantucket 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.
Download the CSV for Nantucket 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 Nantucket County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.