About one in nine people in Yates County, New York, has a disability
In Yates County, 11.5% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 89% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 64% of U.S. counties.
What drives Yates County's score
In Yates County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 61.4. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 19.3. Bankruptcy filings ran at 28.6 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Yates 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, Yates County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (19.7%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a credit card behind (7.5%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 61.4 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.5% · August 202578th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.1% · August 202575th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.1% · second quarter of 202630th percentile
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- 51.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202630th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.6% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
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- 50.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.6% · 202445th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.9% · 202459th percentile
- People with a disability11.5% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- People without health insurance19.7% · 2020 to 202496th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,635 · 202439th percentile
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- 25.1 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 rent14.6% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.0% · fiscal year 202721st percentile
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- 19.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector19.5% · August 202536th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people28.6 · 20252nd 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 Yates 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 Yates County, 22.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Yates County
New York
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Yates County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 27.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Yates County, New York, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Yates County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 11.8% in 2017 to 9.9% in 2018.
The share of households in Yates County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 8.8% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Yates County, New York.
How Yates County has changed
Yates County's population had its largest rise, from 22,486 in 1989 to 23,922 in 1994.
Yates County's population rose by about a quarter from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24,387
High on the chart: 25,303 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Yates County, New York.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Yates County nearly doubled to 7,296, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 7,296. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Yates County, New York.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.1% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.5% | 2024 12.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,651 | 2024 $70,635 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Yates County's history
1790
Public Universal Friend and society moved from Rhode Island to form New Jerusalem community. Wikipedia
1954
A tornado in July 1954 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1974
New Mennonite settlement started in Yates County. Wikipedia
1978
A tornado in June 1978 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
A flash flood in January 1996 did $7.9 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 25,348. The 2020 Census counted 24,774, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau
2014
A flash flood in May 2014 did $7 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Yates County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Yates County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Yates County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Yates County ranks 3rd of the five; Schuyler County is highest, at 30.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seneca County, NY | 50 | 13.4% | 28.1% |
| Schuyler County, NY | 45 | 15.3% | 30.7% |
| Steuben County, NY | 42 | 14.5% | 26.6% |
| Yates County, NY | 35 | 12.6% | 27.3% |
| Ontario County, NY | 15 | 9.0% | 21.5% |
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 Yates County the poorest county in New York?
No, Yates County's poverty rate was 12.6% in 2024, 34th 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, Yates County ranks 46th of 62 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Yates 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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Keuka Housing Council
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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.
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 Yates County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.