About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Graham County, North Carolina, are not working
In Graham County, 31.4% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 91% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 77% of U.S. counties.
What drives Graham County's score
In Graham County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 81.9. People with a car or retail loan behind: 9.0%, August 2025, higher than in 88% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 76.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Graham 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.
Graham County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (74.5, 2025) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.9 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.8% · August 202582nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.0% · August 202588th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score48.0% · second quarter of 202674th percentile
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- 76.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.4% · 202472nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.3% · 202473rd percentile
- People with a disability18.5% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- People without health insurance12.5% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$55,006 · 202482nd percentile
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- 65.9 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 rent21.2% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.1% · fiscal year 202763rd percentile
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- 64.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202637th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working31.4% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
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- 42.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector26.7% · August 202562nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people74.5 · 202521st 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 Graham 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 Graham County, 25.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Graham County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Graham County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 38.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a fifth more than benefit checks
In Graham County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 38.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Graham County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 14.5% in 2010 to 11.7% in 2011.
The share of households in Graham County getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 14.7%, with its low point on the chart in 2014
Low on the chart: 9.0% in 2014. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Graham County, North Carolina.
How Graham County has changed
Graham County's population rose most sharply after its 1974 low, from 6,517 in 1974 to 7,081 in 1979.
Graham County's population rose by about a fifth from 1969 to 2024, reaching 8,179
High on the chart: 8,749 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Graham County, North Carolina.
The number of jobs located in Graham County rose most sharply from its first year (1,659 in 1990) to 2,245 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Graham County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 2,540 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Graham County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 15.1% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.7% | 2024 16.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,219 | 2024 $55,006 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Graham County's history
1872
Formed January 30, 1872, from northeastern part of Cherokee County. Wikipedia
1914
22-year border dispute with Tennessee settled by U.S. Supreme Court. Wikipedia
1974
F2 tornado in Super Outbreak. Wikipedia
1974
A tornado in April 1974 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1982
Air Force plane crash killing nine personnel. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 8,861. The 2020 Census counted 8,030, 91% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1974
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Graham County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Graham County beside its neighbors
Graham County scores higher than all five counties that border it, in North Carolina and Tennessee. For the share of income from benefit checks, Graham County ranks 2nd of the six; Cherokee County is highest, at 45.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graham County, NC | 77 | 16.4% | 38.7% |
| Monroe County, TN | 75 | 12.6% | 33.9% |
| Swain County, NC | 63 | 15.6% | 38.0% |
| Cherokee County, NC | 49 | 15.4% | 45.0% |
| Macon County, NC | 39 | 12.2% | 32.6% |
| Blount County, TN | 33 | 9.2% | 21.7% |
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 Graham County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Graham County's poverty rate was 16.4% in 2024, 33rd 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, Graham County ranks 28th of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Graham 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 Graham 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 Graham County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.