About three in ten people with a credit file in Lyon County, Nevada, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Lyon County, 29.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 70% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 63% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lyon County's score
In Lyon County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 72.9. Bankruptcy filings ran at 199.7 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 74% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 67.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lyon 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.
Lyon County does better than most counties on two measures: median household income ($77,802, 2024) and people below the poverty line (11.4%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 72.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.0% · August 202570th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people199.7 · 202574th percentile
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- 67.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202668th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.4% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
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- 59.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.7% · August 202554th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.3% · August 202565th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.1% · second quarter of 202656th percentile
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- 46.6 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 rent18.8% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.7% · fiscal year 202739th percentile
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- 44.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.4% · 202434th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.2% · 202434th percentile
- People with a disability17.7% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
- People without health insurance9.6% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$77,802 · 202423rd 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 Lyon 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 Lyon County, 22.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lyon County
Nevada
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Lyon County had its largest rise, from 16.5% in 2004 to 22.7% in 2009.
In Lyon County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 25.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Lyon County, Nevada, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 25.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lyon County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (3.9% in 2009) to 6.2% in 2010.
The share of households in Lyon County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 3.9% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lyon County, Nevada.
How Lyon County has changed
Lyon County's population had its largest rise, from 33,200 in 1999 to 42,534 in 2004.
Lyon County's population grew to about eight times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 63,718, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 51,823. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lyon County, Nevada.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Lyon County more than doubled to 13,776, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 10,221. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lyon County, Nevada.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.2% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.3% | 2024 11.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,383 | 2024 $77,802 |
The table uses 4.8% for 2025; the score uses 4.5% 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 Lyon County's history
2002
Winter weather in January 2002 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flash flood in January 2008 did $6.6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
Hail in May 2008 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A flood in January 2017 did $1.3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 59,235, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
12 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lyon County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lyon County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Lyon County, in Nevada and California, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lyon County ranks 3rd of the eight; Mineral County is highest, at 42.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mineral County, NV | 74 | 17.6% | 42.7% |
| Storey County, NV | 66 | 7.2% | 13.6% |
| Lyon County, NV | 63 | 11.4% | 25.3% |
| Churchill County, NV | 53 | 9.9% | 27.0% |
| Carson City, NV | 52 | 11.7% | 23.1% |
| Washoe County, NV | 51 | 9.4% | 13.5% |
| Douglas County, NV | 23 | 8.2% | 14.9% |
| 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 Lyon County the poorest county in Nevada?
No, Lyon County's poverty rate was 11.4% in 2024, 9th 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, Lyon County ranks 7th of 17 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lyon 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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Northern Nevada Legal Aid
Legal aid
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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.
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 Lyon County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.