About one in nine people in Dare County, North Carolina, has a disability
In Dare County, 10.8% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 92% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Dare County's score
In Dare County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 57.0. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 17.2. Bankruptcy filings ran at 57.7 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 86% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Dare 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.
Dare 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.
- 57.0 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent20.2% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.8% · fiscal year 202751st percentile
-
- 37.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202657th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.4% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
-
- 21.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.4% · 202410th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.9% · 202422nd percentile
- People with a disability10.8% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- People without health insurance8.6% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$87,321 · 202412th percentile
-
- 18.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.6% · August 202534th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.2% · August 20256th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score30.1% · second quarter of 202613th percentile
-
- 17.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector15.5% · August 202520th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people57.7 · 202513th percentile
-
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 Dare 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 Dare County, 25.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Dare County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Dare County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 19.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Dare County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 19.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Dare County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.4% in 2013 to 9.2% in 2014.
The share of households in Dare County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 2.8% 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, Dare County, North Carolina.
How Dare County has changed
Dare County's population had its largest rise, from 15,981 in 1984 to 22,143 in 1989.
Dare County's population grew to about five times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 38,183, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2004 to 2009, reaching 33,679. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Dare County, North Carolina.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Dare County nearly doubled to 20,728, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 17,159. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Dare County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.5% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 6.7% | 2024 8.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,041 | 2024 $87,321 |
The table uses 4.3% for 2025; the score uses 4.2% 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 Dare County's history
1870
Founded in 1870 from parts of Tyrrell, Currituck and Hyde counties. Wikipedia
1978
A tornado in July 1978 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
A rip current in June 2002 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
Lightning in August 2002 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A rip current in September 2003 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 36,915, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
-
Since 1988
30 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Dare County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Dare County beside its neighbors
Of the two counties that border Dare County, one scores higher. Of the group, Dare County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Hyde County gets the largest, at 27.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hyde County, NC | 88 | 20.7% | 27.4% |
| Dare County, NC | 17 | 8.4% | 19.4% |
| Currituck County, NC | 9 | 8.1% | 20.7% |
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 Dare County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Dare County's poverty rate was 8.4% in 2024, 97th 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, Dare County ranks 96th of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Dare 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.
-
Legal Aid of North Carolina
Legal aid
-
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 Dare County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.