About two in five people with a credit file in Greene County, North Carolina, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Greene 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 75% of U.S. counties.
What drives Greene County's score
In Greene County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 89.5. People with a car or retail loan behind: 10.3%, August 2025, higher than in 92% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 84.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Greene 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.
Greene County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.2%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (77.9, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 89.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.2% · August 202586th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.3% · August 202592nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score54.6% · second quarter of 202689th percentile
-
- 84.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.9% · 202487th percentile
- Children below the poverty line24.5% · 202481st percentile
- People with a disability20.9% · 2020 to 202484th percentile
- People without health insurance16.6% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$57,307 · 202477th percentile
-
- 60.2 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 people77.9 · 202523rd percentile
-
- 58.5 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 rent20.0% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.2% · fiscal year 202755th percentile
-
- 33.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202622nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.6% · 2020 to 202443rd 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 Greene 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 Greene County, 17.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Greene County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Greene County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 21.6% in 2004 to 28.7% in 2009.
In Greene County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about five times its 1969 level, reaching 27.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Greene County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 27.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Greene County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 18.6% in 2011 to 21.6% in 2012.
The share of households in Greene County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and has since fallen to 21.9%
Low on the chart: 16.0% 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, Greene County, North Carolina.
How Greene County has changed
Greene County's population had its largest rise, from 16,637 in 1994 to 18,687 in 1999.
Greene County's population rose 36% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 21,253 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Greene County, North Carolina.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Greene County rose 40% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 4,040. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Greene County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.1% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.7% | 2024 19.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,841 | 2024 $57,307 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.2% 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 Greene County's history
1791
Formed 1791 from northern part of Dobbs County; originally named Glasgow County for James Glasgow, North Carolina Secretary of State 1777-1798. Wikipedia
1984
A tornado in March 1984 did $25 million in property damage and killed seven people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 21,362. The 2020 Census counted 20,451, 96% of the peak. Census Bureau
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $30 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A flood in April 2017 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1968
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Greene County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Greene County beside its neighbors
All four counties that border Greene County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Greene County ranks 4th of the five; Lenoir County is highest, at 33.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilson County, NC | 88 | 17.6% | 31.2% |
| Lenoir County, NC | 87 | 19.1% | 33.2% |
| Pitt County, NC | 83 | 19.8% | 23.9% |
| Wayne County, NC | 80 | 19.3% | 30.0% |
| Greene County, NC | 75 | 19.9% | 27.6% |
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 Greene County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Greene County's poverty rate was 19.9% in 2024, 14th 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, Greene County ranks 30th of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Greene 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.
Download the CSV for Greene 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 Greene County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.