In Iredell County, North Carolina, benefit checks make up only 18 cents of every dollar of income

In Iredell County, 17.8% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 85% of U.S. counties.

Photo of Ross Kilburn
Data from
County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026
83rd
of 100 counties in North Carolina
36score /100

Less distressed than 63% of U.S. counties.

What drives Iredell County's score

In Iredell County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 54.8. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 26.3.

The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Iredell 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.

Iredell County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.

A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.

  • Late payments

    Biggest factor
    54.8 of 100

    Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026

    • People with a credit card behind
      6.3% · August 2025
      63rd percentile
    • People with a car or retail loan behind
      5.7% · August 2025
      57th percentile
    • People with a subprime credit score
      38.2% · second quarter of 2026
      42nd percentile

  • Housing costs

    52.6 of 100

    Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027

    • Renters paying half their income or more in rent
      20.0% · 2020 to 2024
      61st percentile
    • Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income
      20.1% · fiscal year 2027
      43rd percentile

  • Collections and bankruptcy

    41.5 of 100

    Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025

    • People with unpaid debt sent to a collector
      22.5% · August 2025
      47th percentile
    • Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people
      99.1 · 2025
      35th percentile

  • Jobs

    36.6 of 100

    Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey

    • Unemployment rate, average over the latest year
      3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026
      29th percentile
    • Adults 25 to 54 not working
      19.6% · 2020 to 2024
      43rd percentile

  • Income and safety net

    26.3 of 100

    Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey

    • People below the poverty line
      9.6% · 2024
      19th percentile
    • Children below the poverty line
      11.8% · 2024
      21st percentile
    • People with a disability
      12.3% · 2020 to 2024
      17th percentile
    • People without health insurance
      9.0% · 2020 to 2024
      59th percentile
    • Median household income (lower income, longer bar)
      $85,180 · 2024
      14th percentile

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 Iredell 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 Iredell County, 16.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.

Cents of every dollar of income, 2024

Iredell County

65 18 18

North Carolina

60 19 21

United States

61 21 18
  • Pay from work
  • Investments and rent
  • Benefit checks
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4), shares of all personal income received by residents, 2024. Pay from work is total income minus the other two, so the three add to 100.

In Iredell County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 17.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks

In Iredell County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 17.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.

  • Benefit checks
  • Pay from work
0%45%90% 196919741979198419891994199920042009201420192024 0%45%90% 196919791989199920092024
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4), shares of all personal income received by residents, Iredell County, North Carolina American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/north-carolina/iredell-county-nc/
Download data (CSV)

The share of households in Iredell County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.0% in 2011 to 8.6% in 2012.

The share of households in Iredell County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a fifth

Low on the chart: 6.5% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Iredell County, North Carolina.

0%5%10% 6.7%8.1% 2009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 0%5%10% 6.7%8.1% 20092011201320152017201920212024
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/north-carolina/iredell-county-nc/
Download data (CSV)

How Iredell County has changed

Iredell County's population had its largest rise in the last span, from 183,542 in 2019 to 206,361 in 2024.

Iredell County's population tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 206,361, with no dip in any year shown

Smallest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 81,775. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Iredell County, North Carolina.

0150,000300,000 71,264206,361 196919741979198419891994199920042009201420192024 0150,000300,000 71,264206,361 196919791989199920092024
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/north-carolina/iredell-county-nc/
Download data (CSV)

The number of jobs located in Iredell County had its largest rise, from 60,906 in 2010 to 69,564 in 2015.

The number of jobs located in Iredell County doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 81,030, with no dip in any year shown

Smallest rise: 2005 to 2010, reaching 60,906. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Iredell County, North Carolina.

045,00090,000 41,41181,030 19901995200020052010201520202025 045,00090,000 41,41181,030 19901995200020052010201520202025
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/north-carolina/iredell-county-nc/
Download data (CSV)
MeasureThenNowSource
Unemployment rateBLS LAUS 1990 3.9% 2025 3.6% BLS LAUS
People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE 1989 8.9% 2024 9.6% Census SAIPE
Median household incomeCensus SAIPE 1989 $26,740 2024 $85,180 Census SAIPE

The table uses 3.6% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% 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 Iredell County's history

  1. 1754

    Fort Dobbs constructed as defense facility during French and Indian War. Wikipedia

  2. 1989

    A thunderstorm in May 1989 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database

  3. 2000

    A windstorm in August 2000 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database

  4. 2005

    A tornado in July 2005 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database

  5. 2006

    A tornado in November 2006 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database

  6. 2020

    The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 186,693, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau

  7. Since 1973

    23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Iredell County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA

Iredell County beside its neighbors

Of the nine counties that border Iredell County, seven score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Iredell County ranks 9th of the 10; Wilkes County is highest, at 33.5%.

CountyDistress scoreScoreRank in its state Poverty rateBenefit checks, share of incomeBenefit checks
Rowan County, NC 68 37th of 100 14.1% 28.4%
Wilkes County, NC 59 54th of 100 15.3% 33.5%
Mecklenburg County, NC 49 65th of 100 10.6% 12.0%
Alexander County, NC 45 69th of 100 12.2% 29.0%
Yadkin County, NC 44 71st of 100 14.5% 29.2%
Catawba County, NC 41 77th of 100 13.0% 25.3%
Cabarrus County, NC 38 82nd of 100 8.5% 18.1%
Iredell County, NC 36 83rd of 100 9.6% 17.8%
Davie County, NC 36 86th of 100 10.4% 22.9%
Lincoln County, NC 29 90th of 100 9.7% 21.5%

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 Iredell County the poorest county in North Carolina?

No, Iredell County's poverty rate was 9.6% in 2024, 90th 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, Iredell County ranks 83rd of 100 in the state.

If you're behind on your mortgage in Iredell 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.

North Carolina foreclosure guide →

The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.

Download the CSV for Iredell County · Every U.S. county (CSV)

Cite this Iredell County, North Carolina, scores 36 on the County Distress Index (data through Sep 2026): less distressed than 63% of U.S. counties · American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/north-carolina/iredell-county-nc/

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 Iredell County comes from, 2024.
  • History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.