About two in five people with a credit file in Jones County, North Carolina, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Jones County, 37.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 90% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 79% of U.S. counties.
What drives Jones County's score
In Jones County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 87.7. People with a credit card behind: 11.3%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 81.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Jones 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.
Jones County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (13.2%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 87.7 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind11.3% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.0% · August 202588th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score50.0% · second quarter of 202679th percentile
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- 81.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector37.6% · August 202590th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people191.5 · 202572nd percentile
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- 77.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.3% · 202477th percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.7% · 202487th percentile
- People with a disability20.7% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- People without health insurance9.2% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,456 · 202479th percentile
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- 47.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202641st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.4% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
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- 40.9 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 rent13.2% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.5% · fiscal year 202758th 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 Jones 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 Jones County, 24.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Jones County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Jones County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 35.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Jones County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Jones County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop in the last span, from 19.9% in 2023 to 15.5% in 2024.
The share of households in Jones County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 15.5%
Low on the chart: 14.7% 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, Jones County, North Carolina.
How Jones County has changed
Jones County's population had its largest rise, from 9,376 in 1989 to 10,059 in 1994.
Jones County's population was about the same in 2024 as in 1969
High on the chart: 10,350 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Jones County, North Carolina.
The number of jobs located in Jones County rose most sharply from its first year (1,466 in 1990) to 1,730 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Jones County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 14% since
High on the chart: 1,840 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Jones County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.7% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.8% | 2024 17.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,499 | 2024 $56,456 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Jones County's history
1960
The county's largest recorded population was the 1960 Census count of 11,005. The 2020 Census counted 9,172, 83% of the peak. Census Bureau
1965
A tornado in March 1965 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1991
A tornado in March 1991 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
A tornado in April 1999 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1996
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Jones County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Jones County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Jones County, one scores higher. Of the group, Jones County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (35.3%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lenoir County, NC | 87 | 19.1% | 33.2% |
| Jones County, NC | 79 | 17.3% | 35.3% |
| Duplin County, NC | 77 | 21.1% | 28.4% |
| Onslow County, NC | 60 | 11.5% | 23.7% |
| Craven County, NC | 59 | 12.7% | 29.0% |
| Carteret County, NC | 24 | 9.5% | 25.9% |
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 Jones County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Jones County's poverty rate was 17.3% in 2024, 27th 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, Jones County ranks 25th of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Jones 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 Jones County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.