About three in ten people in Esmeralda County, Nevada, have a disability
In Esmeralda County, 31.5% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 84% of U.S. counties.
What drives Esmeralda County's score
In Esmeralda County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 91.2. Unemployment averaged 6.4%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 87.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Esmeralda 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.
Esmeralda County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a subprime credit score (23.3%, Q2 2026) and people without health insurance (4.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 91.2 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working29.0% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
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- 87.4 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 rent53.3% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.3% · fiscal year 202779th percentile
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- 76.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collectornot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202565th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people271.7 · 202587th percentile
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- 57.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.8% · 202463rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.8% · 202463rd percentile
- People with a disability31.5% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance4.7% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,369 · 202451st percentile
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- 40.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202562nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202552nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score23.3% · second quarter of 20265th 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 Esmeralda 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 Esmeralda County, 24.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Esmeralda County
Nevada
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Esmeralda County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about five times its 1969 level, reaching 27.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Esmeralda County, Nevada, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 27.2%; 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 Esmeralda County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2023 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 3.1% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Esmeralda County, Nevada.
How Esmeralda County has changed
Esmeralda County's population had its largest rise, from 755 in 1979 to 1,423 in 1984.
Esmeralda County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and has since fallen by about half
High on the chart: 1,423 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Esmeralda County, Nevada.
The number of jobs located in Esmeralda County made its largest gain on the way to its 2015 high, from 235 in 2010 to 386 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Esmeralda County fell by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 272, with its low point on the chart in 2005
Low on the chart: 230 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Esmeralda County, Nevada.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.9% | 2025 7.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.7% | 2024 14.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,824 | 2024 $66,369 |
The table uses 7.3% for 2025; the score uses 6.4% 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 Esmeralda County's history
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 9,369. The 2020 Census counted 729, 8% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 2005
3 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Esmeralda County. FEMA
Esmeralda County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Esmeralda County, in Nevada and California, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Esmeralda County ranks 3rd of the five; Mineral County is highest, at 42.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nye County, NV | 90 | 13.8% | 38.2% |
| Esmeralda County, NV | 84 | 14.8% | 27.2% |
| Mineral County, NV | 74 | 17.6% | 42.7% |
| Inyo County, CA | 29 | 11.2% | 26.1% |
| Mono County, CA | 11 | 9.8% | 12.7% |
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 Esmeralda County the poorest county in Nevada?
No, Esmeralda County's poverty rate was 14.8% in 2024, 3rd highest of 17 in Nevada (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Pershing County, at 18.3%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Esmeralda County ranks 3rd of 17 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Esmeralda 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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Nevada Legal Services
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 Esmeralda 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 Esmeralda County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.