About three in ten people with a credit file in Lee County, North Carolina, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Lee County, 27.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 65% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 52% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lee County's score
In Lee County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 60.5. People with a car or retail loan behind: 6.0%, August 2025, higher than in 61% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 56.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lee 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.
Lee County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (80.5, 2025) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.6%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 60.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.1% · August 202560th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.0% · August 202561st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.0% · second quarter of 202659th percentile
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- 56.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.5% · 202452nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.6% · 202458th percentile
- People with a disability16.4% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
- People without health insurance12.2% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$71,876 · 202436th percentile
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- 49.3 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 rent19.8% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.7% · fiscal year 202738th percentile
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- 47.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202635th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.2% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
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- 45.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.5% · August 202565th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people80.5 · 202525th 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 Lee 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 Lee County, 17.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lee County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Lee County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 26.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Lee County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lee County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 11.3% in 2011 to 13.8% in 2012.
The share of households in Lee County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 15.2%
Low on the chart: 8.4% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lee County, North Carolina.
How Lee County has changed
Lee County's population had its largest rise, from 49,747 in 2004 to 57,359 in 2009.
Lee County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 68,537, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1999 to 2004, reaching 49,747. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lee County, North Carolina.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Lee County rose by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 27,415, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 28,056 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lee County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.1% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.5% | 2024 13.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,782 | 2024 $71,876 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.6% 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 Lee County's history
1850
First commercial coal mine opened in Egypt community. Wikipedia
1907
Formed 1907 from parts of Chatham, Harnett, and Moore counties. Wikipedia
1950
Brickmaking emerged as dominant economic powerhouse by 1950s. Wikipedia
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $57 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
Lightning in July 2017 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A flood in September 2018 did $5.42 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 63,285, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2025
A tornado in July 2025 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1968
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lee County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lee County beside its neighbors
Of the three counties that border Lee County, one scores higher. Of the group, Lee County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (26.9%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harnett County, NC | 54 | 13.2% | 25.7% |
| Lee County, NC | 52 | 13.5% | 26.9% |
| Moore County, NC | 19 | 10.9% | 23.2% |
| 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 Lee County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Lee County's poverty rate was 13.5% in 2024, 59th 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, Lee County ranks 59th of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lee 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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Brick Capital Community Development Corporation
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Lee County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.