Unemployment in Alexander County, North Carolina, is lower than in 71% of U.S. counties
In Alexander County, 3.4% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 71% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 54% of U.S. counties.
What drives Alexander County's score
In Alexander County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 60.0. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 33.6. Bankruptcy filings ran at 52.1 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 89% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Alexander 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.
Alexander 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.
- 60.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.1% · August 202574th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.2% · August 202549th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score41.7% · second quarter of 202655th percentile
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- 51.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.2% · 202441st percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.0% · 202438th percentile
- People with a disability18.8% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
- People without health insurance8.1% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,198 · 202451st percentile
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- 46.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202630th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.7% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
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- 44.6 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 rent16.1% · 2020 to 202437th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.8% · fiscal year 202751st percentile
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- 33.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector24.9% · August 202556th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people52.1 · 202510th 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 Alexander 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 Alexander County, 21.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Alexander County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Alexander County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about five times its 1969 level, reaching 29.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Alexander County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 29.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Alexander County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise in the last span, from 9.8% in 2023 to 13.5% in 2024.
The share of households in Alexander County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 13.5%
Low on the chart: 7.1% 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, Alexander County, North Carolina.
How Alexander County has changed
Alexander County's population had its largest rise, from 18,795 in 1969 to 22,673 in 1974.
Alexander County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36,693
High on the chart: 37,053 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Alexander County, North Carolina.
The number of jobs located in Alexander County fell most sharply on the way to its 2010 low, from 10,199 in 2005 to 8,600 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Alexander County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 10,783 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Alexander County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.7% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.1% | 2024 12.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,270 | 2024 $66,198 |
The table uses 3.7% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% 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 Alexander County's history
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 37,198. The 2020 Census counted 36,444, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau
2011
A thunderstorm in April 2011 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
A flash flood in November 2020 killed five people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
A flood in November 2020 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A flash flood in July 2023 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Alexander County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Alexander County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Alexander County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Alexander County ranks 3rd of the five; Caldwell County is highest, at 33.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caldwell County, NC | 60 | 14.0% | 33.7% |
| Wilkes County, NC | 59 | 15.3% | 33.5% |
| Alexander County, NC | 45 | 12.2% | 29.0% |
| Catawba County, NC | 41 | 13.0% | 25.3% |
| Iredell County, NC | 36 | 9.6% | 17.8% |
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 Alexander County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Alexander County's poverty rate was 12.2% in 2024, 75th highest of 100 in North Carolina (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Robeson County, at 23.7%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Alexander County ranks 69th of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Alexander 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 Aid of North Carolina
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 Alexander 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 Alexander County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.