About two in five people with a credit file in Bertie County, North Carolina, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Bertie County, 41.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 95% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 91% of U.S. counties.
What drives Bertie County's score
In Bertie County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 93.5. Income and the safety net comes next, at 85.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Bertie 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.
Bertie County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (15.1%, 2020 to 2024) and adults 25 to 54 not working (19.8%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 93.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind11.4% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind14.3% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score55.7% · second quarter of 202690th percentile
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- 85.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.1% · 202487th percentile
- Children below the poverty line25.4% · 202483rd percentile
- People with a disability24.3% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance9.9% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$47,587 · 202494th percentile
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- 84.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector41.0% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people195 · 202573rd percentile
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- 61.7 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 rent15.1% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income27.3% · fiscal year 202791st percentile
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- 58.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202672nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.8% · 2020 to 202444th 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 Bertie 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 Bertie County, 25.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Bertie County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Bertie County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 38.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a quarter more than benefit checks
In Bertie County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 38.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Bertie County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop in the last span, from 26.8% in 2023 to 23.9% in 2024.
The share of households in Bertie County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 23.9%
Low on the chart: 21.6% 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, Bertie County, North Carolina.
How Bertie County has changed
Bertie County's population had its largest drop, from 19,953 in 2014 to 18,168 in 2019.
Bertie County's population fell by about a fifth to 16,939, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 21,216 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Bertie County, North Carolina.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Bertie County fell by about a fifth to 5,322, the lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 2015 and 2020
High on the chart: 7,259 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Bertie County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.2% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 26.5% | 2024 20.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,849 | 2024 $47,587 |
The table uses 4.8% for 2025; the score uses 4.6% 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 Bertie County's history
1950
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 26,439. The 2020 Census counted 17,934, 68% of the peak. Census Bureau
1984
A tornado in March 1984 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed six people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A tornado in March 1984 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $2.25 million in property damage and killed 12 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
A tornado in August 2020 did $1 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1968
28 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Bertie County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Bertie County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Bertie County, four score higher. Of the group, Bertie County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Washington County gets the largest, at 44.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halifax County, NC | 98 | 18.8% | 41.6% |
| Washington County, NC | 96 | 19.9% | 44.7% |
| Northampton County, NC | 95 | 22.5% | 40.9% |
| Hertford County, NC | 93 | 22.9% | 39.6% |
| Bertie County, NC | 91 | 20.1% | 38.9% |
| Martin County, NC | 81 | 19.7% | 43.9% |
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 Bertie County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Bertie County's poverty rate was 20.1% in 2024, 12th 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, Bertie County ranks 12th of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Bertie 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 Bertie 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 Bertie County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.