About one in five people in Chautauqua County, New York, lives below the poverty line
In Chautauqua County, 18.7% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 82% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 62% of U.S. counties.
What drives Chautauqua County's score
In Chautauqua County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 73.2. Unemployment averaged 4.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, higher than in 73% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 66.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Chautauqua 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.
Chautauqua County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a car or retail loan behind (3.2%, August 2025) and people without health insurance (5.3%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 73.2 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202673rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.8% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
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- 66.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.7% · 202482nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line28.6% · 202489th percentile
- People with a disability17.8% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- People without health insurance5.3% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,051 · 202470th percentile
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- 64.2 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 rent24.0% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.3% · fiscal year 202745th percentile
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- 43.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.1% · August 202560th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.2% · August 202519th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score40.5% · second quarter of 202651st percentile
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- 42.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.2% · August 202546th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people105.7 · 202539th 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 Chautauqua 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 Chautauqua County, 21.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Chautauqua County
New York
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Chautauqua County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 31.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Chautauqua County, New York, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.8%; 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 Chautauqua County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half to 19.9%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2011 to 2012, reaching 15.8%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Chautauqua County, New York.
How Chautauqua County has changed
Chautauqua County's population had its largest drop, from 132,379 in 2014 to 127,913 in 2019.
Chautauqua County's population fell 16% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 148,706 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Chautauqua County, New York.
The number of jobs located in Chautauqua County had its largest drop, from 49,941 in 2015 to 43,621 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Chautauqua County fell by about a fifth from 1990 to 2020, reaching 43,621, then turned up in 2025
High on the chart: 56,812 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Chautauqua County, New York.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.8% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.8% | 2024 18.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,065 | 2024 $60,051 |
The table uses 4.3% for 2025; the score uses 4.7% 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 Chautauqua County's history
1970
The county's largest recorded population was the 1970 Census count of 147,305. The 2020 Census counted 127,657, 87% of the peak. Census Bureau
1983
A tornado in May 1983 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1985
A tornado in May 1985 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A flash flood in August 2009 did $30 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A tornado in July 2010 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Chautauqua County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Chautauqua County beside its neighbors
Chautauqua County scores higher than all four counties that border it, in New York and Pennsylvania. For the share of income from benefit checks, Chautauqua County ranks 2nd of the five; Warren County is highest, at 33.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chautauqua County, NY | 62 | 18.7% | 31.8% |
| Cattaraugus County, NY | 59 | 18.7% | 30.5% |
| Erie County, PA | 54 | 14.7% | 27.8% |
| Erie County, NY | 44 | 12.8% | 22.1% |
| Warren County, PA | 31 | 10.1% | 33.3% |
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 Chautauqua County the poorest county in New York?
No, Chautauqua County's poverty rate was 18.7% in 2024, 3rd highest of 62 in New York (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Bronx County, at 28.7%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Chautauqua County ranks 6th of 62 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Chautauqua 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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Chautauqua Home Rehabilitation and Improvement Corp. (CHRIC)
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Chautauqua Opportunities, Incorporated
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Chautauqua Opportunities, Incorporated
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Legal Assistance of Western New York (LawNY)
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 Chautauqua 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 Chautauqua County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.