In Martin County, North Carolina, benefit checks brought in more money than paychecks in 2024
In 2024, 44 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 81% of U.S. counties.
What drives Martin County's score
In Martin County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 90.3. People with a credit card behind: 10.4%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 77.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Martin 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.
Martin County does better than most counties on two measures: adults 25 to 54 not working (18.8%, 2020 to 2024) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (16.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 90.3 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind10.4% · August 202595th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.5% · August 202585th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score54.6% · second quarter of 202689th percentile
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- 77.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.7% · 202486th percentile
- Children below the poverty line28.4% · 202489th percentile
- People with a disability19.7% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- People without health insurance7.1% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$52,295 · 202487th percentile
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- 76.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector35.9% · August 202588th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people167.9 · 202565th percentile
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- 56.5 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 rent16.5% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.2% · fiscal year 202772nd percentile
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- 42.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202647th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.8% · 2020 to 202438th 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 Martin 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 Martin County, 25.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Martin County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Martin County had its largest rise in the last span, from 38.1% in 2019 to 43.9% in 2024.
In Martin County, benefit checks overtook pay in 2024, a bigger share of income than across North Carolina
In Martin County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 43.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Martin County getting SNAP food aid rose from 2009 to 2024, reaching 20.1%, with most of the change between 2011 and 2012
High on the chart: 21.2% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Martin County, North Carolina.
How Martin County has changed
Martin County's population had its largest drop, from 23,347 in 2014 to 22,246 in 2019.
Martin County's population fell 14% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 26,090 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Martin County, North Carolina.
The number of jobs located in Martin County had its largest drop, from 11,271 in 1995 to 9,192 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Martin County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and has since fallen by about half
High on the chart: 11,271 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Martin County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.3% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.2% | 2024 19.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,235 | 2024 $52,295 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Martin County's history
1950
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 27,938. The 2020 Census counted 22,031, 79% of the peak. Census Bureau
1963
Civil rights protests at City Hall led by Golden Frinks, 29 consecutive days beginning June 1963. Wikipedia
1998
Hail in June 1998 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
Martin General Hospital in Williamston suspended operations August 3, 2023, due to bankruptcy of Quorum Health. Wikipedia
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Since 1968
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Martin County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Martin County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Martin County, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Martin County ranks 2nd of the seven; Washington County is highest, at 44.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edgecombe County, NC | 99 | 21.1% | 39.1% |
| Halifax County, NC | 98 | 18.8% | 41.6% |
| Washington County, NC | 96 | 19.9% | 44.7% |
| Bertie County, NC | 91 | 20.1% | 38.9% |
| Pitt County, NC | 83 | 19.8% | 23.9% |
| Martin County, NC | 81 | 19.7% | 43.9% |
| Beaufort County, NC | 68 | 16.1% | 33.2% |
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 Martin County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Martin County's poverty rate was 19.7% in 2024, 17th 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, Martin County ranks 21st of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Martin 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.
Download the CSV for Martin 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 Martin County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.