About one in eight people with a credit file in Wyoming County, New York, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Wyoming County, 13.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 88% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 88% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wyoming County's score
In Wyoming County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 35.5. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 12.1. People with a car or retail loan behind: 1.6%, August 2025, lower than in 96% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Wyoming 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.
Wyoming 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.
- 35.5 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202653rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.3% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
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- 32.0 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent17.6% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.4% · fiscal year 202716th percentile
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- 28.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.4% · 202434th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.5% · 202430th percentile
- People with a disability13.8% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- People without health insurance3.6% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$69,751 · 202441st percentile
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- 20.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.0% · August 202511th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people86 · 202528th percentile
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- 12.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.4% · August 202515th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.6% · August 20253rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.4% · second quarter of 202617th 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 Wyoming 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 Wyoming County, 20.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wyoming County
New York
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Wyoming County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 24.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Wyoming County, New York, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Wyoming County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 10.5% in 2019 to 8.7% in 2020; 9.2% in 2023 to 11.0% in 2024.
The share of households in Wyoming County getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 11.0%
High on the chart: 11.1% in 2018. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Wyoming County, New York.
How Wyoming County has changed
Wyoming County's population rose most sharply from its first year (37,138 in 1969) to 38,884 in 1974.
Wyoming County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 43,584 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Wyoming County, New York.
The number of jobs located in Wyoming County rose most sharply from its first year (11,938 in 1990) to 13,216 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Wyoming County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 13% since
High on the chart: 14,240 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wyoming County, New York.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.8% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.0% | 2024 11.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,993 | 2024 $69,751 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Wyoming County's history
1998
A tornado in June 1998 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A flash flood in June 1998 did $4.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 43,424. The 2020 Census counted 40,531, 93% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1972
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wyoming County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Wyoming County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Wyoming County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Wyoming County ranks 5th of the six; Allegany County is highest, at 31.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cattaraugus County, NY | 59 | 18.7% | 30.5% |
| Allegany County, NY | 53 | 16.4% | 31.9% |
| Erie County, NY | 44 | 12.8% | 22.1% |
| Livingston County, NY | 28 | 9.9% | 25.4% |
| Genesee County, NY | 19 | 9.9% | 25.4% |
| Wyoming County, NY | 11 | 11.4% | 24.7% |
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 Wyoming County the poorest county in New York?
No, Wyoming County's poverty rate was 11.4% in 2024, 46th 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, Wyoming County ranks 61st of 62 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wyoming 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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Neighborhood Legal Services
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 Wyoming 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 Wyoming County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.