About three in ten people with a credit file in Caswell County, North Carolina, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Caswell County, 30.8% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 75% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 60% of U.S. counties.
What drives Caswell County's score
In Caswell County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 86.2. People with a credit card behind: 10.0%, August 2025, higher than in 94% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 72.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Caswell 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.
Caswell County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (70.2, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (14.2%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 86.2 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind10.0% · August 202594th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.6% · August 202590th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score47.3% · second quarter of 202672nd percentile
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- 72.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.8% · 202474th percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.6% · 202477th percentile
- People with a disability19.0% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- People without health insurance9.8% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,453 · 202469th percentile
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- 47.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.8% · August 202575th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people70.2 · 202519th percentile
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- 42.8 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 202634th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.0% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
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- 35.5 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 rent14.2% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.1% · fiscal year 202743rd 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 Caswell 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 Caswell County, 23.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Caswell County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Caswell County had its largest rise, from 23.6% in 2004 to 32.4% in 2009.
In Caswell County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 32.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Caswell County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 32.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Caswell County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 17.5% in 2012 to 20.3% in 2013.
The share of households in Caswell County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 20.1%
High on the chart: 20.5% in 2015. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Caswell County, North Carolina.
How Caswell County has changed
Caswell County's population rose by about a fifth from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22,363, with most of the change between 1994 and 1999
High on the chart: 23,801 in 2004. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Caswell County, North Carolina.
The number of jobs located in Caswell County had its largest drop, from 3,770 in 2000 to 3,069 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Caswell County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 3,770 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Caswell County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.9% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.1% | 2024 16.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,159 | 2024 $60,453 |
The table uses 3.7% 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 Caswell County's history
1839
Bright leaf tobacco flue-curing process discovered by enslaved man Stephen in 1839 and perfected by Abisha Slade in 1856, revolutionizing North Carolina tobacco industry. Wikipedia
2008
A tornado in March 2008 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 23,719. The 2020 Census counted 22,736, 96% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Caswell County. FEMA
Caswell County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Caswell County, in North Carolina and Virginia, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Caswell County ranks 3rd of the six; Halifax County is highest, at 38.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Danville city, VA | 98 | 22.9% | — |
| Halifax County, VA | 85 | 15.0% | 38.4% |
| Rockingham County, NC | 74 | 17.2% | 33.3% |
| Person County, NC | 69 | 14.3% | 30.2% |
| Pittsylvania County, VA | 63 | 13.5% | — |
| Caswell County, NC | 60 | 16.8% | 32.2% |
| Alamance County, NC | 56 | 13.8% | 25.0% |
| Orange County, NC | 22 | 12.4% | 11.8% |
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 Caswell County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Caswell County's poverty rate was 16.8% in 2024, 30th 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, Caswell County ranks 50th of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Caswell 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 Caswell 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 Caswell County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.