Benefit checks make up 32 cents of every dollar of income in Haywood County, North Carolina
In Haywood County, 32.2% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 73% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 50% of U.S. counties.
What drives Haywood County's score
In Haywood County, housing costs weigh most: the score for housing costs is 70.8. Rent on a two-bedroom takes 23.0% of the typical household's income (fiscal year 2027), higher than in 71% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 60.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Haywood 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.
Haywood 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 (90.5, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 70.8 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent21.5% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.0% · fiscal year 202771st percentile
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- 60.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.6% · 202453rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.4% · 202457th percentile
- People with a disability17.3% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
- People without health insurance11.4% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,113 · 202454th percentile
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- 46.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.5% · August 202551st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.7% · August 202543rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score38.9% · second quarter of 202645th percentile
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- 38.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.7% · August 202544th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people90.5 · 202531st percentile
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- 35.0 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 202623rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.1% · 2020 to 202446th 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 Haywood 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 Haywood County, 25.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Haywood County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Haywood County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 32.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Haywood County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Haywood County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 14.0% in 2017 to 12.1% in 2018.
The share of households in Haywood County getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 13.5%
High on the chart: 14.3% 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, Haywood County, North Carolina.
How Haywood County has changed
Haywood County's population rose by about half to 63,048, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 53,602. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Haywood County, North Carolina.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Haywood County rose 17% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 16,872. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Haywood County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.8% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.1% | 2024 13.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,000 | 2024 $65,113 |
The table uses 3.9% 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 Haywood County's history
1715
Smallpox outbreak among Cherokee population. Wikipedia
1865
Last shot of the Civil War east of the Mississippi fired in Waynesville. Wikipedia
1997
Heavy rain in July 1997 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 62,089, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2021
A flash flood in August 2021 did $200 million in property damage and killed five people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
A debris flow in August 2021 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A flash flood in September 2024 did $200 million in property damage and killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Haywood County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Haywood County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Haywood County, in North Carolina and Tennessee, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Haywood County ranks 4th of the eight; Cocke County is highest, at 38.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cocke County, TN | 94 | 20.9% | 38.5% |
| Swain County, NC | 63 | 15.6% | 38.0% |
| Madison County, NC | 56 | 14.9% | 33.4% |
| Sevier County, TN | 55 | 13.2% | 22.1% |
| Jackson County, NC | 50 | 16.9% | 29.1% |
| Haywood County, NC | 50 | 13.6% | 32.2% |
| Buncombe County, NC | 45 | 12.4% | 20.9% |
| Transylvania County, NC | 44 | 12.0% | 27.3% |
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 Haywood County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Haywood County's poverty rate was 13.6% in 2024, 58th 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, Haywood County ranks 62nd of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Haywood 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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Mountain Projects, Inc.
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Pisgah Legal Services
Legal aid
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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 Haywood 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 Haywood County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.