About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Hoke County, North Carolina, are not working
In Hoke County, 27.9% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 84% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 78% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hoke County's score
In Hoke County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 84.6. People with a credit card behind: 9.3%, August 2025, higher than in 92% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 76.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hoke 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.
Hoke County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (91.8, 2025) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (20.2%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 84.6 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.3% · August 202592nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.6% · August 202579th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score51.1% · second quarter of 202682nd percentile
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- 76.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202668th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.9% · 2020 to 202484th percentile
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- 64.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.2% · 202471st percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.0% · 202475th percentile
- People with a disability17.4% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- People without health insurance10.3% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$68,243 · 202445th percentile
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- 56.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.8% · August 202581st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people91.8 · 202531st percentile
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- 53.0 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 rent19.9% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.2% · fiscal year 202745th 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 Hoke 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 Hoke County, 11.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hoke County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Hoke County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about five times its 1969 level, reaching 32.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Hoke County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 32.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Hoke County getting SNAP food aid rose most in two steps: 13.6% in 2010 to 16.0% in 2011; 17.5% in 2012 to 19.9% in 2013.
The share of households in Hoke County getting SNAP food aid rose by more than half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 20.1%
High on the chart: 20.9% in 2015. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Hoke County, North Carolina.
How Hoke County has changed
Hoke County's population had its largest rise, from 38,119 in 2004 to 45,406 in 2009.
Hoke County's population more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 55,382, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 17,677. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hoke County, North Carolina.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Hoke County rose by about a third to 9,285, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 9,285. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hoke County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.1% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 23.3% | 2024 16.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,290 | 2024 $68,243 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Hoke County's history
1981
A tornado in February 1981 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in September 2016 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in October 2016 did $3.1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 52,082, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1996
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hoke County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hoke County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Hoke County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Hoke County ranks 4th of the five; Robeson County is highest, at 41.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robeson County, NC | 97 | 23.7% | 41.0% |
| Scotland County, NC | 94 | 22.9% | 39.2% |
| Cumberland County, NC | 89 | 16.5% | 33.1% |
| Hoke County, NC | 78 | 16.2% | 32.8% |
| Moore County, NC | 19 | 10.9% | 23.2% |
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 Hoke County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Hoke County's poverty rate was 16.2% in 2024, 35th 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, Hoke County ranks 26th of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hoke 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.
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 Hoke County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.