In New York County, New York, benefit checks make up only 8 cents of every dollar of income

In New York County, 8.0% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.

Photo of Ross Kilburn
Data from
County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026
28th
of 62 counties in New York
47score /100

Less distressed than 52% of U.S. counties.

What drives New York County's score

In New York County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 91.5. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 21.5. About one in seven people with a credit file (13.8%, August 2025) has unpaid debt sent to a collector, a lower share than in 85% of U.S. counties.

The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in New York 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.

Even so, New York County is worse off than most counties on rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (33.7%, fiscal year 2027) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (24.2%, 2020 to 2024).

A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.

  • Housing costs

    Biggest factor
    91.5 of 100

    Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027

    • Renters paying half their income or more in rent
      24.2% · 2020 to 2024
      83rd percentile
    • Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income
      33.7% · fiscal year 2027
      99th percentile

  • Jobs

    60.8 of 100

    Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey

    • Unemployment rate, average over the latest year
      4.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026
      74th percentile
    • Adults 25 to 54 not working
      20.2% · 2020 to 2024
      46th percentile

  • Late payments

    36.3 of 100

    Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026

    • People with a credit card behind
      4.0% · August 2025
      25th percentile
    • People with a car or retail loan behind
      6.7% · August 2025
      69th percentile
    • People with a subprime credit score
      30.1% · second quarter of 2026
      13th percentile

  • Income and safety net

    32.1 of 100

    Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey

    • People below the poverty line
      15.5% · 2024
      67th percentile
    • Children below the poverty line
      19.8% · 2024
      63rd percentile
    • People with a disability
      11.9% · 2020 to 2024
      14th percentile
    • People without health insurance
      4.2% · 2020 to 2024
      10th percentile
    • Median household income (lower income, longer bar)
      $105,713 · 2024
      4th percentile

  • Collections and bankruptcy

    21.5 of 100

    Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025

    • People with unpaid debt sent to a collector
      13.8% · August 2025
      14th percentile
    • Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people
      86 · 2025
      28th 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 New York 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 New York County, 18.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.

Cents of every dollar of income, 2024

New York County

60 32 8

New York

61 21 18

United States

61 21 18
  • Pay from work
  • Investments and rent
  • Benefit checks
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4), shares of all personal income received by residents, 2024. Pay from work is total income minus the other two, so the three add to 100.

Benefit checks' share of income in New York County had its largest rise, from 7.9% in 1969 to 11.5% in 1974.

In New York County, pay from work still brings in about eight times as much as benefit checks, with little change in benefit checks' share since 1969

In New York County, New York, benefit checks' share of income rose from 1969 to 2024, reaching 8.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.

  • Benefit checks
  • Pay from work
0%40%80% 196919741979198419891994199920042009201420192024 0%40%80% 196919791989199920092024
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4), shares of all personal income received by residents, New York County, New York American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/new-york/new-york-county-ny/
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SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.

The share of households in New York County getting SNAP food aid rose to 14.4%, the highest on the chart

Biggest rise: 2009 to 2010, reaching 11.2%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, New York County, New York.

0%10%20% 10.2%14.4% 2009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 0%10%20% 10.2%14.4% 20092011201320152017201920212024
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/new-york/new-york-county-ny/
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How New York County has changed

New York County's population rose 8% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 2009 and 2014

High on the chart: 1,702,471 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, New York County, New York.

01,000,0002,000,000 1,543,7621,660,664 196919741979198419891994199920042009201420192024 01,000,0002,000,000 1,543,7621,660,664 196919791989199920092024
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/new-york/new-york-county-ny/
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The number of jobs located in New York County had its largest rise in the last span, from 2,199,251 in 2020 to 2,487,650 in 2025.

The number of jobs located in New York County fell to its lowest on the chart in 1995, then climbed past the 1990 level

Low on the chart: 2,103,353 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, New York County, New York.

01,500,0003,000,000 2,340,4052,487,650 19901995200020052010201520202025 01,500,0003,000,000 2,340,4052,487,650 19901995200020052010201520202025
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/new-york/new-york-county-ny/
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MeasureThenNowSource
Unemployment rateBLS LAUS 1990 5.9% 2025 4.7% BLS LAUS
People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE 1989 19.9% 2024 15.5% Census SAIPE
Median household incomeCensus SAIPE 1989 $27,667 2024 $105,713 Census SAIPE

Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.

Dated events in New York County's history

  1. 1910

    The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 2,762,522. The 2020 Census counted 1,694,251, 61% of the peak. Census Bureau

  2. 1998

    A thunderstorm in April 1998 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database

  3. 2002

    Lightning in August 2002 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database

  4. 2021

    A flash flood in September 2021 did $60 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database

  5. 2021

    A flash flood in September 2021 did $54 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database

  6. Since 1965

    23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered New York County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA

New York County beside its neighbors

Of the five counties that border New York County, in New York and New Jersey, four score higher. Of the group, New York County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Bronx County gets the largest, at 37.3%.

CountyDistress scoreScoreRank in its state Poverty rateBenefit checks, share of incomeBenefit checks
Bronx County, NY 98 1st of 62 28.7% 37.3%
Kings County, NY 69 3rd of 62 19.2% 23.5%
Hudson County, NJ 61 7th of 21 14.7% 13.3%
Queens County, NY 58 10th of 62 13.4% 26.7%
New York County, NY 47 28th of 62 15.5% 8.0%
Bergen County, NJ 25 17th of 21 6.7% 11.1%

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 New York County the poorest county in New York?

No, New York County's poverty rate was 15.5% in 2024, 13th 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, New York County ranks 28th of 62 in the state.

If you're behind on your mortgage in New York 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.

New York foreclosure guide →

The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.

Download the CSV for New York County · Every U.S. county (CSV)

Cite this New York County, New York, scores 47 on the County Distress Index (data through Sep 2026): less distressed than 52% of U.S. counties · American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/new-york/new-york-county-ny/

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 New York County comes from, 2024.
  • History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.