Queens County, New York
Below the national median for homeownership rate.
Main Findings
Queens County, New York ranks 1,236th most distressed in the United States on the County Distress Index. The driver: 45% of occupied housing is owner-occupied (bottom percentile nationally) — below the national median of 74%.
- 1,236th of 3,144 counties on the County Distress Index — Elevated zone, 6th in New York.
- 45% of occupied housing is owner-occupied (bottom percentile nationally) (U.S. median 74%). Homeownership rate at the 1st percentile nationally.
- Rent-to-income ratio at 43% — national median 21%, ranked at the 99th percentile.
- Credit card delinquency at 6% — national median 5%, ranked at the 58th percentile.
- Unemployment at 5% — national median 4%, ranked at the 63rd percentile.
Neighbors span three CDI zones. The 44-point drop to Nassau County marks where the New York City distress corridor ends.
"Queens County is where distress lives in the margins — not a headline county, but a county where most households are running out of runway."
"Elevated-zone counties are the largest block in the index. Most Americans live in counties scoring 55–70 — middle-class households doing the math every month."
Reporter's Notes
Two data points in the indicator table worth a follow-up call.
Queens County's business formation rate indicator is at the 13th percentile — while every other indicator in the Economic Vitality domain is above the 62th. The gap stands out against wage-to-rent ratio and rent-to-income ratio. Worth a call to Urban Institute or a local credit counselor in Queens County.
The Indicators Behind Queens County's CDI Score
Every number traces to a public source. Queens County's value shown alongside NY's median and the U.S. median. Full CSV available for download.
| Indicator | Queens | NY median | U.S. median | Pctile | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer Credit Distress — domain score 41 · Rank 1,884 of 3,144 | |||||
| Debt in collections Share of residents with a credit file who have debt in collections | 17% | 19% | 23% | 26th | Urban Institute (2024) |
| Medical debt in collections Share of residents with a credit file who have medical debt in collections | 0% | 0% | 4% | 7th | Urban Institute (2024) |
| Auto loan delinquency Share of auto loan accounts 60+ days past due | 6% | 4% | 5% | 57th | Urban Institute (2024) |
| Credit card delinquency Share of credit card accounts 60+ days past due | 6% | 5% | 5% | 58th | Urban Institute (2024) |
| Uninsured rate Share of residents without health insurance coverage | 8% | 4% | 8% | 54th | Census ACS 5-yr (2023) |
| Subprime credit share Share of residents with a credit score below 660 | 22% | 21% | 23% | 46th | Urban Institute (2024) |
| Housing Cost Burden — domain score 91 · Rank 98 of 3,144 | |||||
| Rent burden (30%+) Share of renter households paying 30%+ of income on rent | 50% | 44% | 38% | 92nd | Census ACS 5-yr (2023) |
| Severe rent burden (50%+) Share of renter households paying 50%+ of income on rent | 26% | 23% | 18% | 91st | Census ACS 5-yr (2023) |
| Owner housing burden Share of owner households paying 30%+ of income on housing | 28% | 26% | 24% | 77th | Census ACS 5-yr (2023) |
| Homeownership rate Share of occupied housing units that are owner-occupied | 45% | 72% | 74% | 1st | Census ACS 5-yr (2023) |
| Structural Poverty — domain score 38 · Rank 2,096 of 3,144 | |||||
| Unemployment Share of labor force unemployed | 5% | 5% | 4% | 63rd | BLS LAUS (Dec 2025) |
| Poverty rate Share of population below the federal poverty line | 14% | 14% | 14% | 52nd | Census SAIPE (2023) |
| Household income relative to state Median household income as share of state median | 1.19× | 1.00× | 1.00× | 82nd | Census SAIPE (2023) |
| Child poverty rate Share of children under 18 below the federal poverty line | 18% | 18% | 18% | 49th | Census SAIPE (2023) |
| Disability rate Share of residents reporting a disability | 10% | 15% | 16% | 6th | Census ACS 5-yr (2023) |
| Transfer-income dependency Share of personal income from government transfers | 27% | 26% | 27% | 48th | BEA Regional Personal Income (2023) |
| Legal Distress — domain score 47 · Rank 1,654 of 3,144 | |||||
| Bankruptcy filing rate Personal bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents | 121 | 108 | 126 | 47th | US Courts F-5A (2025) |
| Economic Vitality — domain score 78 · Rank 189 of 3,144 | |||||
| Wage-to-rent ratio Ratio of average weekly wage to fair-market rent | 1.9× | 3.7× | 4.0× | 1st | BLS QCEW × HUD FMR (2024) |
| Rent-to-income ratio Fair Market Rent (2BR) as share of median household income | 43% | 23% | 21% | 99th | HUD FMR × Census ACS (2024) |
| Business formation rate New business applications per 1,000 residents | 15.7 | 7.8 | 10.0 | 87th | Census Business Formation Statistics (2024) |
| House price change (yoy) House price index year-over-year change | 5% | 6% | 4% | 62nd | FHFA HPI (2024) |
Five-Domain Breakdown
The CDI is a PCA-weighted composite of five statistically derived factors. Weights are proportional to each factor's share of explained variance across 3,144 counties.
Methodology
The County Distress Index is a 0–100 composite score of household financial distress, computed for all 3,144 U.S. counties. A score of 50 represents the national county median; higher scores indicate greater distress. The index is built from 21 indicators grouped into five statistically derived factors via principal component analysis (PCA); factor weights are proportional to each factor's share of explained variance (shown in the Five-Domain Breakdown above).
Data sources include the Urban Institute Debt in America (Equifax consumer credit panel), U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, Business Formation Statistics), Bureau of Labor Statistics (Local Area Unemployment Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages), U.S. Courts Administrative Office (F-5A bankruptcy filings), and HUD Fair Market Rents. Data vintages range from 2023 to 2025 depending on source; full indicator-level vintage detail is in the methodology document.
For Press & Research
Everything you need to cite Queens County data — in under 60 seconds.
Draft wire copy 155-word AP-style article — use freely with attribution
QUEENS, N.Y.. — Queens County ranks 1,236th among the nation's most financially distressed counties, according to the County Distress Index released this month by American Default Research.
The composite score of 56 out of 100 places Queens in the "Elevated" zone, the highest-distress category on the index. Among 3,144 U.S. counties scored, only 1235 rank worse. Within New York, Queens ranks sixth of 62 counties.
The index, which draws on 21 indicators from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Urban Institute and federal court filings, identifies housing cost burden as the primary driver in Queens. 45% of occupied housing is owner-occupied (bottom percentile nationally) — below the national median of 74%.
"Queens County is where distress lives in the margins — not a headline county, but a county where most households are running out of runway." said Ross Kilburn, founder of American Default Research.
Full methodology and county-by-county data are available at americandefault.org/methodology/cdi.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Queens County's CDI score, and what does it mean?
What drives Queens County's distress score?
How does Queens County compare to its neighbors?
How is the County Distress Index calculated?
Queens County resident looking for help? HUD counselors, legal aid, and attorney referrals →