About three in ten people with a credit file in Guilford County, North Carolina, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Guilford County, 28.2% 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 61% of U.S. counties.
What drives Guilford County's score
In Guilford County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 76.9. People with a car or retail loan behind: 8.3%, August 2025, higher than in 84% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 65.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Guilford 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.
Guilford County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (12.3%, 2020 to 2024) and adults 25 to 54 not working (18.3%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 76.9 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.6% · August 202580th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.3% · August 202584th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score44.7% · second quarter of 202665th percentile
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- 65.6 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 rent21.7% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.7% · fiscal year 202760th percentile
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- 54.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector28.2% · August 202568th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people109.7 · 202541st percentile
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- 44.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202654th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.3% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
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- 44.7 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 line18.6% · 202458th percentile
- People with a disability12.3% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- People without health insurance8.4% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,304 · 202440th 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 Guilford 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 Guilford County, 15.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Guilford County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Guilford County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 20.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Guilford County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 20.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Guilford County getting SNAP food aid rose most in two steps: 8.6% in 2009 to 9.8% in 2010; 12.0% in 2012 to 13.2% in 2013.
The share of households in Guilford County getting SNAP food aid doubled to 15.5%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2009 to 2010, reaching 9.8%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Guilford County, North Carolina.
How Guilford County has changed
Guilford County's population had its largest rise, from 440,597 in 2004 to 484,180 in 2009.
Guilford County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 558,816, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 327,270. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Guilford County, North Carolina.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Guilford County rose by about a quarter to 292,379, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 279,115. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Guilford County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.6% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.7% | 2024 13.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,612 | 2024 $70,304 |
The table uses 4.3% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Guilford County's history
1771
Organized 1771 from parts of Rowan and Orange counties. Wikipedia
1818
Mt. Hecla Cotton Mill established. Wikipedia
1960
Greensboro Four sit-in at Woolworth's lunch counter. Wikipedia
2008
A tornado in May 2008 did $4 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A flash flood in June 2009 did $2 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A tornado in April 2018 did $65 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A flood in September 2018 did $14.63 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 541,299, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Guilford County. FEMA
Guilford County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Guilford County, two score higher. Of the group, Guilford County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Rockingham County gets the largest, at 33.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rockingham County, NC | 74 | 17.2% | 33.3% |
| Randolph County, NC | 65 | 12.5% | 28.1% |
| Guilford County, NC | 61 | 13.5% | 20.9% |
| Forsyth County, NC | 60 | 13.3% | 22.1% |
| Alamance County, NC | 56 | 13.8% | 25.0% |
| Davidson County, NC | 51 | 11.2% | 25.9% |
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 Guilford County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Guilford 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, Guilford County ranks 47th of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Guilford 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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CCCS of Greater Greensboro
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Housing Authority of the City of High Point
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 Guilford 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 Guilford County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.