About one in three people with a credit file in Harnett County, North Carolina, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Harnett County, 32.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 79% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 54% of U.S. counties.
What drives Harnett County's score
In Harnett County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 68.6. People with a credit card behind: 7.3%, August 2025, higher than in 77% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 59.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Harnett 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.
Harnett County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (17.3%, fiscal year 2027) and median household income ($72,961, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 68.6 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.3% · August 202577th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.4% · August 202566th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.5% · second quarter of 202662nd percentile
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- 59.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.0% · August 202579th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people108.9 · 202540th percentile
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- 59.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202646th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.6% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
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- 46.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.2% · 202449th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.3% · 202435th percentile
- People with a disability16.0% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
- People without health insurance9.7% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,961 · 202433rd percentile
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- 29.8 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 rent17.1% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.3% · fiscal year 202715th 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 Harnett 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 Harnett County, 13.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Harnett County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Harnett County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 25.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Harnett County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Harnett County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 11.9% in 2011 to 13.3% in 2012.
The share of households in Harnett County getting SNAP food aid rose from 2009 to 2024, reaching 15.2%
High on the chart: 16.3% 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, Harnett County, North Carolina.
How Harnett County has changed
Harnett County's population had its largest rise, from 75,590 in 1994 to 89,127 in 1999.
Harnett County's population tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 146,096, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 62,277. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Harnett County, North Carolina.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Harnett County nearly doubled to 29,633, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 29,633. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Harnett County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.6% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.1% | 2024 13.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,796 | 2024 $72,961 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Harnett County's history
1865
Battle of Averasborough during Sherman's Carolinas campaign. Wikipedia
1989
A thunderstorm in February 1989 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $16 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
Lightning in April 2015 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flood in October 2016 did $9.1 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 133,568, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1968
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Harnett County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Harnett County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Harnett County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Harnett County ranks 4th of the eight; Cumberland County is highest, at 33.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cumberland County, NC | 89 | 16.5% | 33.1% |
| Sampson County, NC | 82 | 19.1% | 31.5% |
| Harnett County, NC | 54 | 13.2% | 25.7% |
| Lee County, NC | 52 | 13.5% | 26.9% |
| Johnston County, NC | 45 | 9.6% | 19.9% |
| Moore County, NC | 19 | 10.9% | 23.2% |
| Wake County, NC | 17 | 8.6% | 11.2% |
| Chatham County, NC | 11 | 8.7% | 15.5% |
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 Harnett County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Harnett County's poverty rate was 13.2% in 2024, 64th 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, Harnett County ranks 58th of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Harnett 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 Harnett 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 Harnett County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.