About one in seven people in Catawba County, North Carolina, has a disability
In Catawba County, 13.6% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 73% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 58% of U.S. counties.
What drives Catawba County's score
In Catawba County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 64.2. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 34.6. About one in seven renters (15.3%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 66% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Catawba 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.
Catawba 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.
- 64.2 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.7% · August 202569th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.3% · August 202565th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.5% · second quarter of 202657th percentile
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- 46.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.0% · 202448th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.9% · 202448th percentile
- People with a disability13.6% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- People without health insurance10.6% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,879 · 202438th percentile
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- 41.3 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 202632nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.8% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
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- 38.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector26.2% · August 202561st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people62.6 · 202515th percentile
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- 34.7 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 rent15.3% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.4% · fiscal year 202735th 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 Catawba 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 Catawba County, 18.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Catawba County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Catawba County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about five times its 1969 level, reaching 25.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Catawba County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 25.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Catawba County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 12.6% in 2012 to 14.3% in 2013.
The share of households in Catawba County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 9.1% 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, Catawba County, North Carolina.
How Catawba County has changed
Catawba County's population had its largest rise, from 126,504 in 1994 to 139,522 in 1999.
Catawba County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 167,054, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 155,326. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Catawba County, North Carolina.
The number of jobs located in Catawba County had its largest drop, from 101,324 in 2000 to 86,374 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Catawba County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 12% since
High on the chart: 101,324 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Catawba County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.2% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 7.2% | 2024 13.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,408 | 2024 $70,879 |
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 Catawba County's history
1842
Formed in 1842 from Lincoln County. Wikipedia
1989
A tornado in May 1989 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
Hail in May 1996 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 160,610, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2024
A tornado in January 2024 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A flash flood in September 2024 did $50 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Catawba County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Catawba County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Catawba County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Catawba County ranks 4th of the six; Caldwell County is highest, at 33.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burke County, NC | 63 | 14.0% | 31.2% |
| Caldwell County, NC | 60 | 14.0% | 33.7% |
| Alexander County, NC | 45 | 12.2% | 29.0% |
| Catawba County, NC | 41 | 13.0% | 25.3% |
| Iredell County, NC | 36 | 9.6% | 17.8% |
| 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 Catawba County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Catawba County's poverty rate was 13.0% in 2024, 65th 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, Catawba County ranks 77th of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Catawba 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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Western Piedmont Council of Governments
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Catawba 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 Catawba County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.