About three in ten people with a credit file in Granville County, North Carolina, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Granville County, 28.3% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 68% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 67% of U.S. counties.
What drives Granville County's score
In Granville County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 82.1. People with a car or retail loan behind: 9.5%, August 2025, higher than in 90% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 61.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Granville 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.
Granville County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.4%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and median household income ($70,353, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 82.1 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.9% · August 202590th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.5% · August 202590th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score44.6% · second quarter of 202665th percentile
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- 61.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector28.4% · August 202569th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people135.1 · 202553rd percentile
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- 55.1 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 rent19.8% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.7% · fiscal year 202750th percentile
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- 53.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.5% · 202452nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.3% · 202456th percentile
- People with a disability16.9% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- People without health insurance9.3% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,353 · 202440th percentile
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- 48.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202628th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.9% · 2020 to 202468th 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 Granville 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 Granville County, 17.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Granville County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Granville County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 23.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Granville County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Granville County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 9.9% in 2011 to 12.0% in 2012.
The share of households in Granville County getting SNAP food aid rose from 2009 to 2024, reaching 13.9%
High on the chart: 14.2% in 2016. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Granville County, North Carolina.
How Granville County has changed
Granville County's population doubled to 61,544, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 47,498. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Granville County, North Carolina.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Granville County rose by about half to 21,067, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 16,687. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Granville County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.6% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.5% | 2024 13.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,879 | 2024 $70,353 |
The table uses 3.6% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% 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 Granville County's history
1746
Established June 28, 1746. Wikipedia
1989
A tornado in May 1989 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 60,992, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Granville County. FEMA
Granville County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Granville County, in North Carolina and Virginia, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Granville County ranks 5th of the eight; Vance County is highest, at 38.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vance County, NC | 96 | 18.1% | 38.9% |
| Halifax County, VA | 85 | 15.0% | 38.4% |
| Person County, NC | 69 | 14.3% | 30.2% |
| Granville County, NC | 67 | 13.5% | 23.8% |
| Franklin County, NC | 67 | 12.6% | 23.3% |
| Mecklenburg County, VA | 61 | 14.5% | 37.2% |
| Durham County, NC | 42 | 11.3% | 15.9% |
| Wake County, NC | 17 | 8.6% | 11.2% |
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 Granville County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Granville County's poverty rate was 13.5% in 2024, 59th 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, Granville County ranks 39th of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Granville 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 Granville 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 Granville County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.