About one in eight people with a credit file in Tompkins County, New York, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Tompkins County, 12.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 91% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 68% of U.S. counties.
What drives Tompkins County's score
In Tompkins County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 96.1. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 7.3. Bankruptcy filings ran at 39.6 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Tompkins 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, Tompkins County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (30.9%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (28.4%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 96.1 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 rent30.9% · 2020 to 202497th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income28.4% · fiscal year 202794th percentile
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- 42.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202641st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.5% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
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- 32.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.3% · 202477th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.5% · 202425th percentile
- People with a disability12.0% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- People without health insurance4.4% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,326 · 202434th percentile
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- 18.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.1% · August 202512th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.0% · August 202532nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score28.3% · second quarter of 20269th percentile
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- 7.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.2% · August 20258th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people39.6 · 20255th 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 Tompkins 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 Tompkins County, 16.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Tompkins County
New York
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Tompkins County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 18.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Tompkins County, New York, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 18.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Tompkins County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.6% in 2010 to 9.0% in 2011.
The share of households in Tompkins County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 8.9%
Low on the chart: 6.4% 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, Tompkins County, New York.
How Tompkins County has changed
Tompkins County's population had its largest rise, from 76,231 in 1969 to 85,580 in 1974.
Tompkins County's population rose 39% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 106,038 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Tompkins County, New York.
The number of jobs located in Tompkins County fell most sharply after its 2015 high, from 50,119 in 2015 to 45,959 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Tompkins County rose 10% from 1990 to 2025
High on the chart: 50,119 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Tompkins County, New York.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.7% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.1% | 2024 17.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,235 | 2024 $72,326 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.8% 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 Tompkins County's history
1996
A flash flood in January 1996 did $19 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
Hail in May 2012 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A flash flood in June 2015 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 105,740, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1970
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Tompkins County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Tompkins County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Tompkins County score higher than it does. Of the group, Tompkins County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Schuyler County gets the largest, at 30.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chemung County, NY | 62 | 14.2% | 29.2% |
| Seneca County, NY | 50 | 13.4% | 28.1% |
| Cortland County, NY | 45 | 14.7% | 26.3% |
| Schuyler County, NY | 45 | 15.3% | 30.7% |
| Tioga County, NY | 41 | 10.8% | 25.0% |
| Cayuga County, NY | 36 | 13.5% | 25.3% |
| Tompkins County, NY | 31 | 17.3% | 18.3% |
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 Tompkins County the poorest county in New York?
No, Tompkins County's poverty rate was 17.3% in 2024, 7th 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, Tompkins County ranks 52nd of 62 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Tompkins 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 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 Tompkins 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 Tompkins County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.