Benefit checks make up 42 cents of every dollar of income in Halifax County, North Carolina
In Halifax County, 41.6% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 95% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 98% of U.S. counties.
What drives Halifax County's score
In Halifax County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 96.0. People with a credit card behind: 10.9%, August 2025, higher than in 96% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 86.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Halifax 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.
Halifax 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.
- 96.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind10.9% · August 202596th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.6% · August 202596th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score59.0% · second quarter of 202695th percentile
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- 86.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202687th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working28.4% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
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- 84.7 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 rent24.1% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.7% · fiscal year 202786th percentile
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- 82.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector37.8% · August 202591st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people198.7 · 202574th percentile
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- 82.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.8% · 202483rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line26.8% · 202486th percentile
- People with a disability21.6% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
- People without health insurance9.1% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$47,318 · 202495th 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 Halifax 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 Halifax County, 22.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Halifax County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Halifax County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 41.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Halifax County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 41.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Halifax County getting SNAP food aid rose most from 26.4% in 2011 to 32.2% in 2013, 2.9 points each year.
The share of households in Halifax County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 29.1%
Low on the chart: 21.3% 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, Halifax County, North Carolina.
How Halifax County has changed
Halifax County's population had its largest drop, from 52,398 in 2014 to 49,111 in 2019.
Halifax County's population fell 14% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 57,894 in 1994. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Halifax County, North Carolina.
The number of jobs located in Halifax County had its largest drop, from 19,262 in 2000 to 17,849 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Halifax County fell by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 15,111
High on the chart: 19,470 in 1990. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Halifax County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.9% | 2025 5.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 27.1% | 2024 18.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,345 | 2024 $47,318 |
The table uses 5.4% for 2025; the score uses 5.3% 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 Halifax County's history
1960
The county's largest recorded population was the 1960 Census count of 58,956. The 2020 Census counted 48,622, 82% of the peak. Census Bureau
1988
A tornado in November 1988 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
A flash flood in September 1999 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $1.2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flood in October 2016 did $73.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1988
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Halifax County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Halifax County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Halifax County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Halifax County ranks 2nd of the seven; 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% |
| Northampton County, NC | 95 | 22.5% | 40.9% |
| Bertie County, NC | 91 | 20.1% | 38.9% |
| Warren County, NC | 85 | 20.1% | 39.0% |
| 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 Halifax County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Halifax County's poverty rate was 18.8% in 2024, 23rd 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, Halifax County ranks 2nd of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Halifax 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 Halifax 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 Halifax County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.