About one in four people with a credit file in Davidson County, North Carolina, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Davidson County, 27.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 64% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 51% of U.S. counties.
What drives Davidson County's score
In Davidson County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 69.0. People with a credit card behind: 8.0%, August 2025, higher than in 84% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 49.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Davidson 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.
Davidson County does better than most counties on two measures: people below the poverty line (11.2%, 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (95.5, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 69.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.0% · August 202584th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.1% · August 202563rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.9% · second quarter of 202659th percentile
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- 49.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.1% · August 202564th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people95.5 · 202533rd percentile
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- 46.5 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 rent18.5% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.9% · fiscal year 202740th percentile
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- 46.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.2% · 202432nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.8% · 202437th percentile
- People with a disability15.4% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- People without health insurance9.4% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,644 · 202453rd percentile
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- 45.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202635th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.5% · 2020 to 202454th 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 Davidson 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 Davidson County, 19.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Davidson County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Davidson County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about five times its 1969 level, reaching 25.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Davidson County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 25.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Davidson County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 11.0% in 2010 to 12.7% in 2011.
The share of households in Davidson 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: 9.7% 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, Davidson County, North Carolina.
How Davidson County has changed
Davidson County's population had its largest rise, from 134,381 in 1994 to 146,106 in 1999.
Davidson County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 177,809, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 163,376. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Davidson County, North Carolina.
The number of jobs located in Davidson County fell most sharply on the way to its 2010 low, from 44,581 in 2005 to 38,782 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Davidson County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 8% since
High on the chart: 50,289 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Davidson County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.9% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.2% | 2024 11.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,119 | 2024 $65,644 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.6% 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 Davidson County's history
1822
Formed in 1822 from Rowan County. Wikipedia
1985
A thunderstorm in May 1985 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A flash flood in July 2010 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in November 2011 did $20 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 168,930, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2020
A thunderstorm in April 2020 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
29 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Davidson County. FEMA
Davidson County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Davidson County, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Davidson County ranks 5th of the eight; Montgomery County is highest, at 28.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rowan County, NC | 68 | 14.1% | 28.4% |
| Randolph County, NC | 65 | 12.5% | 28.1% |
| Montgomery County, NC | 62 | 16.0% | 28.8% |
| Guilford County, NC | 61 | 13.5% | 20.9% |
| Forsyth County, NC | 60 | 13.3% | 22.1% |
| Davidson County, NC | 51 | 11.2% | 25.9% |
| Stanly County, NC | 44 | 12.6% | 27.8% |
| Davie County, NC | 36 | 10.4% | 22.9% |
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 Davidson County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Davidson County's poverty rate was 11.2% in 2024, 83rd 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, Davidson County ranks 60th of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Davidson 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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CCCS of Greater Greensboro
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Home Solutions
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 Davidson 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 Davidson County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.