About one in six people with a credit file in Essex County, New York, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Essex County, 17.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 71% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 66% of U.S. counties.
What drives Essex County's score
In Essex County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 56.9. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 22.5. Bankruptcy filings ran at 62.5 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 84% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Essex 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.
Essex County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 56.9 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 rent20.3% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.7% · fiscal year 202750th percentile
-
- 43.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.5% · August 202565th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.9% · August 202530th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.9% · second quarter of 202632nd percentile
-
- 39.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.6% · 202436th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.8% · 202432nd percentile
- People with a disability17.7% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
- People without health insurance5.0% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$67,881 · 202446th percentile
-
- 38.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202645th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.8% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
-
- 22.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.7% · August 202529th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people62.5 · 202515th percentile
-
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 Essex 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 Essex County, 26.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Essex County
New York
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Essex County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 26.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Essex County, New York, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Essex County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.1% in 2010 to 8.6% in 2011.
The share of households in Essex County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 10.5%
Low on the chart: 6.3% 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, Essex County, New York.
How Essex County has changed
Essex County's population rose 6% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1989 and 1994
High on the chart: 39,478 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Essex County, New York.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Essex County rose 8% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
High on the chart: 15,418 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Essex County, New York.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.0% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.0% | 2024 11.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,970 | 2024 $67,881 |
The table uses 3.6% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Essex County's history
1799
Split from Clinton County in 1799. Wikipedia
1996
A flash flood in November 1996 did $9 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A flash flood in June 1998 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 39,370. The 2020 Census counted 37,381, 95% of the peak. Census Bureau
2011
A flash flood in August 2011 did $35 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flood in August 2011 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1993
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Essex County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Essex County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Essex County, in New York and Vermont, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Essex County ranks 5th of the eight; Franklin County is highest, at 28.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington County, NY | 51 | 11.6% | 27.4% |
| Clinton County, NY | 48 | 13.2% | 27.9% |
| Franklin County, NY | 47 | 18.0% | 28.1% |
| Warren County, NY | 45 | 12.4% | 23.0% |
| Hamilton County, NY | 37 | 10.7% | 26.4% |
| Essex County, NY | 33 | 11.6% | 26.1% |
| Addison County, VT | 7 | 8.0% | 18.4% |
| Chittenden County, VT | 7 | 8.9% | 14.7% |
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 Essex County the poorest county in New York?
No, Essex County's poverty rate was 11.6% in 2024, 43rd 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, Essex County ranks 49th of 62 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Essex 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.
-
Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York
Legal aid
-
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 Essex County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.