About one in five people in Burke County, North Carolina, has a disability
In Burke County, 18.9% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 73% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 63% of U.S. counties.
What drives Burke County's score
In Burke County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 72.2. People with a credit card behind: 8.1%, August 2025, higher than in 85% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 68.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Burke 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.
Burke County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (82.6, 2025) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.5%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 72.2 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.1% · August 202585th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.1% · August 202563rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.3% · second quarter of 202667th percentile
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- 68.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.0% · 202456th percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.1% · 202472nd percentile
- People with a disability18.9% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- People without health insurance11.0% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,006 · 202467th percentile
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- 56.2 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 rent17.2% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.6% · fiscal year 202767th percentile
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- 47.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector28.2% · August 202568th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people82.6 · 202526th percentile
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- 46.5 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 202631st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.6% · 2020 to 202461st 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 Burke 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 Burke County, 21.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Burke County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Burke County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about five times its 1969 level, reaching 31.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Burke County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 31.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Burke County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 15.7% in 2013 to 18.2% in 2014.
The share of households in Burke County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 10.9% 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, Burke County, North Carolina.
How Burke County has changed
Burke County's population had its largest rise, from 59,743 in 1969 to 67,775 in 1974.
Burke County's population rose by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 88,545
High on the chart: 91,178 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Burke County, North Carolina.
The number of jobs located in Burke County fell most sharply on the way to its 2010 low, from 33,923 in 2005 to 27,960 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Burke County fell by about a fifth from 1990 to 2020, reaching 28,501, then turned up in 2025
High on the chart: 38,481 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Burke County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.9% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.1% | 2024 14.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,559 | 2024 $61,006 |
The table uses 3.9% 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 Burke County's history
1777
Formed in 1777. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 90,912. The 2020 Census counted 87,570, 96% of the peak. Census Bureau
2012
A tornado in January 2012 did $13.4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
Lightning in July 2012 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A tornado in October 2017 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A flash flood in September 2024 did $40 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1974
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Burke County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Burke County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Burke County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Burke County ranks 5th of the eight; Rutherford County is highest, at 37.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland County, NC | 80 | 16.3% | 33.4% |
| Rutherford County, NC | 75 | 14.8% | 37.0% |
| Burke County, NC | 63 | 14.0% | 31.2% |
| McDowell County, NC | 61 | 15.5% | 36.2% |
| Caldwell County, NC | 60 | 14.0% | 33.7% |
| Catawba County, NC | 41 | 13.0% | 25.3% |
| Avery County, NC | 36 | 15.8% | 28.0% |
| Lincoln County, NC | 29 | 9.7% | 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 Burke County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Burke County's poverty rate was 14.0% in 2024, 54th 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, Burke County ranks 44th of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Burke 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.
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 Burke County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.