In the Bronx, 33.9% of renters pay half their income or more in rent
The Bronx is the most distressed county in New York, and rent is the biggest reason.
Edition October 2026 · Next edition expected March 2027
More distressed than 98% of U.S. counties.
What drives Bronx County's score
The County Distress Index draws on work, income, credit, safety-net and housing measures. The bars below score those five parts, starting with the biggest.
Renter costs dominate the housing measure
Severe rent burden is the strongest housing signal in the county score.
Rent on a two-bedroom is 76.7% of median income
HUD's standardized two-bedroom fair-market rent is the basis for this comparison with county median household income in fiscal year 2027.
Children face more poverty than residents overall
The Census Bureau estimated child poverty at 38.1% in 2024.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 99.6 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorHUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027; renters, 2020–24 Census survey
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income76.7% · fiscal year 202799th percentile
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent33.9% · 2020 to 202499th percentile
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- 94.3 of 100
Jobs
Adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey; unemployment through Aug 2026
- Adults 25 to 54 not working31.0% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year7.1% · Sep 2025 to Aug 202697th percentile
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- 89.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.0% · August 202588th percentile
- People with a credit card behind10.4% · August 202595th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score51.4% · second quarter of 202682nd percentile
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- 80.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- Children below the poverty line38.1% · 202498th percentile
- People with a disability17.7% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$46,486 · 202496th percentile
- People below the poverty line28.7% · 202497th percentile
- People without health insurance7.1% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
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- 62.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.0% · August 202576th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people121.3 · 202547th percentile
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Sources: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and U.S. Census Bureau income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; 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 Aug 2026.
What Bronx County is known for
The Bronx's history is the story of a borough built almost entirely for renters, burned, and rebuilt for renters again.
The subway built a borough of apartment renters
In 1880 the Bronx had 52,000 residents and no subway line. The first subway to Manhattan opened in 1904, and a wave of land speculation and building followed. The city's 1901 Tenement House Law required more light, air and fire protection, which made small-lot tenements unprofitable, so from the start the five- and six-story apartment house was the borough's dominant building type. A 1921 state law gave a ten-year property tax exemption to apartment buildings put up between 1920 and 1924, and nearly half the apartment houses in the Grand Concourse district went up in the decade that followed. By 1940 the Bronx had 1.395 million people. New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, Grand Concourse Historic District designation report (2011)
For half a century, a Concourse address meant you had made it
The Landmarks Preservation Commission says that for nearly fifty years an address on or near the Grand Concourse was a strong sign of success. The borough reached about 1.5 million people in 1970. Over the decades that followed, the commission says, areas like the Concourse came to be seen as old, poor neighborhoods with cheap rents, and owners stopped investing in the upkeep of their buildings. New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, Grand Concourse Historic District designation report (2011) · New York City Department of City Planning, Bronx population analysis
In the 1970s the borough burned and lost a fifth of its people
Fire, organized arson-for-profit schemes and insurance fraud destroyed some 108,000 housing units in the Bronx between 1970 and 1981, by the city comptroller's count. With New York City near insolvency, the borough lost about 300,000 residents between the 1970 and 1980 Censuses, about 20% of its people. New York City Comptroller, How New York Lives · New York City Department of City Planning, Bronx population analysis
Nonprofits rebuilt it, and what came back was rental housing
In the 1980s, housing built by nonprofit community organizations and gut rehabilitation of abandoned buildings brought much of the housing stock back, the Department of City Planning says, and the borough began to grow again, especially through immigration. Mayor Ed Koch unveiled a five-year, $4.4 billion housing plan in his 1985 State of the City address. The Bronx is still a borough of renters: in the Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 survey, only 20.1% of its households owned their home. New York City Department of City Planning, Bronx population analysis · New York City Comptroller, How New York Lives · U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year
The jobs grew, but they pay Bronx wages against New York rents
Employers in the Bronx reported 332,669 payroll jobs in 2024, the most in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' record for the county. About a third of those jobs, 103,739, are private health care and social assistance jobs. The average job in the Bronx paid $1,359 a week in 2024, less than half the $3,175 average in Manhattan. Bronx residents with a job numbered 571,622 in 2024, so about 239,000 more Bronx residents have a job than there are jobs in the borough. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, QCEW Bronx County 2024 · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, QCEW New York County 2024 · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics
Set that income against the rents of a borough built for renting. Four in five households rent, the housing stock was rebuilt as rentals, and pay runs well below the rest of the city; the result is that a third of Bronx renters pay half their income or more in rent. That is the connection this history shows. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year
This photograph shows a bus on the Grand Concourse near Fordham Road. Farther south, a landmarked mile of the same road holds apartment houses built between 1917 and 1959, the older housing in the story below.
A bus on the Grand Concourse near Fordham Road.
Photo: Tdorante10 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fact: New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, Grand Concourse historic district
Key dates
These are other events in Bronx County's history that the story above does not cover.
1997
A thunderstorm in August 1997 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A thunderstorm in September 1998 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
Lightning in August 2021 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
A flash flood in September 2021 did $60 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
Where the money in Bronx County comes from
The bars below show the countywide mix of pay and benefits.
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.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Bronx County
New York
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Pay remains the largest share
Pay from work supplied 55 cents of each dollar in 2024.
In Bronx County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 37.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Bronx County, New York, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 37.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The SNAP bars trace rising household use in the Bronx after 2009.
The share of households in Bronx County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half to 38.6%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2011, reaching 31.2%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Bronx County, New York.
What changed in Bronx County in the past year
In the past year, three Bronx housing developments broke ground while scheduled first foreclosure auctions increased; the announced homes are planned.
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September 29, 2026
Senior housing broke ground at Morris Houses
New York City announced construction of Sol on Park, with 229 planned affordable senior apartments.
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August 3, 2026
Hunts Point housing broke ground
New York City broke ground on the Casanova Residence in Hunts Point, with 96 planned supportive and affordable homes.
Source: New York City Mayor’s Office, Casanova Residence groundbreaking, August 3, 2026
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June 29, 2026
River Commons broke ground
The city announced construction of 328 planned affordable and supportive homes in the South Bronx.
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January 20, 2026
Foreclosure report recorded more first auctions
PropertyShark counted 194 Bronx residential properties scheduled for a first foreclosure auction in 2025, up 35% from 2024.
How Bronx County has changed
The population chart follows the borough's long rebound and the decline after 2020.
Bronx County's population had its largest drop, from 1,381,620 in 1974 to 1,188,566 in 1979.
Bronx County's population fell 5% from 1969 to 2024, with its low point on the chart in 1984
Low on the chart: 1,179,413 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Bronx County, New York.
The workplace chart traces the borough’s payroll-job series.
The number of jobs located in Bronx County had its largest rise, from 232,682 in 2010 to 298,911 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Bronx County nearly doubled from 1990 to 2024, reaching 332,669, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 203,647. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2024, Bronx County, New York.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.4% | 2025 7.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 27.1% | 2024 28.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,881 | 2024 $46,486 |
The table uses 7.0% for 2025; the score uses 7.1% for the latest year (Sep 2025 to Aug 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Bronx County beside its neighbors
The Bronx has the highest distress score, poverty rate and benefit-check share among its neighboring counties. Queens comes closest on distress score.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bronx County, NY | 98 | 28.7% | 37.3% |
| Queens County, NY | 58 | 13.4% | 26.7% |
| New York County, NY | 47 | 15.5% | 8.0% |
| Westchester County, NY | 27 | 8.7% | 10.1% |
| Bergen County, NJ | 25 | 6.7% | 11.1% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Aug 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 Bronx County the poorest county in New York?
The Census Bureau estimated 28.7% of Bronx residents lived in poverty in 2024. That was 1st among New York counties, ordered from highest to lowest.
What to watch in Bronx County before the next edition
New York's October labor estimates are scheduled for two November releases; new county income figures and November labor estimates follow in December.
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November 19 and 24, 2026
October labor estimates reach the city before Bronx County
New York schedules city labor-force and unemployment figures for November 19 and estimates for all counties for November 24.
Source: New York State Labor Department, labor data release schedule
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December 2, 2026
New county income figures are due in December
The Bureau of Economic Analysis schedules its 2025 personal income by county release for December 2.
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, personal income by county release
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December 22, 2026
November county labor estimates are scheduled for December
New York schedules its November labor-force and unemployment estimates for all counties for December 22.
Source: New York State Labor Department, county labor release calendar
If you're behind on your mortgage in Bronx 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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Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City Bronx Branch
HUD-approved housing counselor
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The Bronx Neighborhood Housing Services CDC, Inc.
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Legal Services NYC
Legal aid
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Legal Aid Society
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
We gather the data, run the numbers and research each county ourselves. We write with AI tools, and Ross Kilburn checks and reviews every page before it's published. This edition: October 2026 · Next edition expected March 2027. Method: Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Aug 2026, built from HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; 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 Bronx County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.
- New York City Municipal Archives, Bronx borough records
- New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, Grand Concourse historic district
- New York State Labor Department, county labor release calendar
- New York City Department of City Planning, Bronx population analysis
- New York City Comptroller, How New York Lives
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, QCEW Bronx County 2024
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, QCEW New York County 2024
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics
- U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts CAINC4
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents
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Thanks, that helps.