About one in five people in Sullivan County, New York, lives below the poverty line
In Sullivan County, 18.7% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 82% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 63% of U.S. counties.
What drives Sullivan County's score
In Sullivan County, housing costs weigh most: the score for housing costs is 77.4. About one in four renters (23.8%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a higher share than in 81% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 59.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Sullivan 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.
Sullivan County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (5.5%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (112.6, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 77.4 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 rent23.8% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.3% · fiscal year 202773rd percentile
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- 59.7 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 line30.2% · 202491st percentile
- People with a disability15.9% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- People without health insurance5.5% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,973 · 202449th percentile
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- 58.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.5% · August 202566th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.3% · August 202551st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.9% · second quarter of 202659th percentile
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- 49.2 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 202646th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.0% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
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- 47.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.6% · August 202551st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people112.6 · 202542nd 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 Sullivan 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 Sullivan County, 19.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Sullivan County
New York
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Sullivan County had its largest rise, from 11.7% in 1969 to 17.9% in 1974.
In Sullivan County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 27.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Sullivan County, New York, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.9%; 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 Sullivan County getting SNAP food aid more than doubled to 17.1%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2009 to 2010, reaching 9.2%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Sullivan County, New York.
How Sullivan County has changed
Sullivan County's population rose by about half to 80,450, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 61,442. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Sullivan County, New York.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Sullivan County rose by about a quarter to 30,789, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
High on the chart: 30,789 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Sullivan County, New York.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.1% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.6% | 2024 18.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,598 | 2024 $66,973 |
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 Sullivan County's history
1989
A tornado in November 1989 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2004
A flash flood in August 2004 did $20 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2004
A flash flood in September 2004 did $15 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
A flash flood in June 2006 did $100 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 78,624, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
35 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Sullivan County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Sullivan County beside its neighbors
Sullivan County scores higher than all five counties that border it, in New York and Pennsylvania. For the share of income from benefit checks, Sullivan County ranks 3rd of the six; Delaware County is highest, at 29.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sullivan County, NY | 63 | 18.7% | 27.9% |
| Pike County, PA | 60 | 9.9% | 23.7% |
| Orange County, NY | 54 | 12.0% | 20.2% |
| Wayne County, PA | 48 | 13.0% | 28.4% |
| Ulster County, NY | 47 | 12.7% | 22.9% |
| Delaware County, NY | 42 | 12.7% | 29.6% |
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 Sullivan County the poorest county in New York?
No, Sullivan 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, Sullivan County ranks 5th of 62 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Sullivan 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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Legal Services of the Hudson Valley
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 Sullivan 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 Sullivan County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.