About one in 13 people in Camden County, North Carolina, lives below the poverty line
In Camden County, 7.5% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 96% of U.S. counties.
What drives Camden County's score
In Camden County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 24.1. Jobs are the lowest part, at 10.9. About one in eight adults aged 25 to 54 (13.2%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a lower share than in 90% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Camden 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.
Camden 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.
- 24.1 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.7% · August 202521st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.6% · August 202526th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score33.3% · second quarter of 202623rd percentile
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- 21.8 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 rent12.0% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.3% · fiscal year 202724th percentile
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- 19.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector18.9% · August 202534th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people26.9 · 20255th or lower percentile
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- 11.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.5% · 20245th percentile
- Children below the poverty line7.8% · 20245th percentile
- People with a disability12.9% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- People without health insurance4.5% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$89,509 · 202411th percentile
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- 10.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202612th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working13.2% · 2020 to 20249th 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 Camden 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 Camden County, 16.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Camden County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Camden County had its largest rise in the last span, from 19.5% in 2019 to 23.0% in 2024.
In Camden County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 23.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Camden County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Camden County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 11.3% in 2015 to 13.6% in 2016.
The share of households in Camden County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 7.5% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Camden County, North Carolina.
How Camden County has changed
Camden County's population doubled to 11,184, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1999 to 2004, reaching 8,415. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Camden County, North Carolina.
The number of jobs located in Camden County had its largest drop, from 2,115 in 2010 to 1,407 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Camden County was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and is down 43% since
High on the chart: 2,115 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Camden County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.2% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.5% | 2024 7.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,764 | 2024 $89,509 |
The table uses 3.0% for 2025; the score uses 2.9% 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 Camden County's history
1777
1777 (Consolidated July 1, 2006). Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 10,355, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1996
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Camden County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Camden County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Camden County, in North Carolina and Virginia, score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Camden County ranks 3rd of the six; Pasquotank County is highest, at 30.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gates County, NC | 70 | 14.3% | 29.9% |
| Pasquotank County, NC | 67 | 15.3% | 30.3% |
| Suffolk city, VA | 55 | 8.3% | 21.9% |
| Chesapeake city, VA | 48 | 10.5% | 19.6% |
| Currituck County, NC | 9 | 8.1% | 20.7% |
| Camden County, NC | 3 | 7.5% | 23.0% |
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 Camden County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Camden County's poverty rate was 7.5% in 2024, the lowest 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, Camden County ranks 100th of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Camden 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 Camden 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 Camden County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.