About two in five people with a credit file in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Edgecombe County, 42.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 96% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Edgecombe County's score
In Edgecombe County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 97.2. People with a car or retail loan behind: 12.6%, August 2025, higher than in 97% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 86.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Edgecombe 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.
Edgecombe County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 97.2 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind11.2% · August 202597th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind12.6% · August 202597th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score60.3% · second quarter of 202696th percentile
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- 86.5 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 rent23.1% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income28.4% · fiscal year 202794th percentile
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- 84.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector42.0% · August 202596th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people194.5 · 202573rd percentile
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- 84.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202689th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working26.3% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
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- 82.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line21.1% · 202490th percentile
- Children below the poverty line30.4% · 202492nd percentile
- People with a disability17.8% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- People without health insurance11.0% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$49,283 · 202492nd 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 Edgecombe 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 Edgecombe County, 20.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Edgecombe County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Edgecombe County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, but pay from work still brings in 15% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Edgecombe County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 39.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Edgecombe County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 27.7% in 2019 to 24.1% in 2020.
The share of households in Edgecombe County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 21.5% 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, Edgecombe County, North Carolina.
How Edgecombe County has changed
Edgecombe County's population had its largest drop, from 53,960 in 2014 to 49,469 in 2019.
Edgecombe County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1989 and is down 14% since
High on the chart: 57,400 in 1989. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Edgecombe County, North Carolina.
The number of jobs located in Edgecombe County had its largest drop, from 22,626 in 2005 to 18,827 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Edgecombe County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 39% since
High on the chart: 24,302 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Edgecombe County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.0% | 2025 5.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.9% | 2024 21.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,412 | 2024 $49,283 |
The table uses 5.6% for 2025; the score uses 5.5% 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 Edgecombe County's history
1741
Created in 1741 by the North Carolina assembly. Wikipedia
1990
The county's largest recorded population was the 1990 Census count of 56,558. The 2020 Census counted 48,900, 86% of the peak. Census Bureau
1999
A flash flood in September 1999 killed eight people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flood in October 2016 did $69.1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1968
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Edgecombe County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Edgecombe County beside its neighbors
Edgecombe County scores higher than all five counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Edgecombe County ranks 3rd of the six; Martin County is highest, at 43.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edgecombe County, NC | 99 | 21.1% | 39.1% |
| Halifax County, NC | 98 | 18.8% | 41.6% |
| Wilson County, NC | 88 | 17.6% | 31.2% |
| Pitt County, NC | 83 | 19.8% | 23.9% |
| Martin County, NC | 81 | 19.7% | 43.9% |
| Nash County, NC | 72 | 12.5% | 28.4% |
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 Edgecombe County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Edgecombe County's poverty rate was 21.1% in 2024, 7th 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, Edgecombe County ranks 1st of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Edgecombe 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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Housing Authority of the City of Rocky Mount, NC
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 Edgecombe 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 Edgecombe County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.