About one in five people in Pitt County, North Carolina, lives below the poverty line
In Pitt County, 19.8% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 86% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 83% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pitt County's score
In Pitt County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 82.9. People with a credit card behind: 8.3%, August 2025, higher than in 87% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 81.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pitt 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.
Pitt County does better than most counties on one measure: people with a disability (14.9%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 82.9 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.3% · August 202587th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.6% · August 202586th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score48.2% · second quarter of 202675th percentile
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- 81.6 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 rent25.5% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.6% · fiscal year 202775th percentile
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- 67.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.5% · August 202582nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people129.1 · 202551st percentile
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- 67.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.8% · 202486th percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.7% · 202470th percentile
- People with a disability14.9% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- People without health insurance10.0% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$59,430 · 202472nd percentile
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- 50.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202650th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.9% · 2020 to 202450th 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 Pitt 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 Pitt County, 14.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pitt County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Pitt County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 23.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Pitt County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Pitt County getting SNAP food aid rose most in two steps: 12.2% in 2010 to 13.4% in 2011; 13.9% in 2012 to 15.1% in 2013.
The share of households in Pitt County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 15.2%
Low on the chart: 11.8% 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, Pitt County, North Carolina.
How Pitt County has changed
Pitt County's population had its largest rise, from 144,486 in 2004 to 165,581 in 2009.
Pitt County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 180,783, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2014 to 2019, reaching 169,857. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pitt County, North Carolina.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Pitt County nearly doubled to 81,398, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 66,218. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pitt County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.0% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.9% | 2024 19.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,644 | 2024 $59,430 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.0% 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 Pitt County's history
1761
Formed on January 1, 1761, from Beaufort County. Wikipedia
1972
A tornado in May 1972 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A tornado in March 1984 did $25 million in property damage and killed nine people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
A thunderstorm in July 2012 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in October 2016 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 170,243, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1968
29 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pitt County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pitt County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Pitt County, three score higher. Of the group, Pitt County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Martin County gets the largest, at 43.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edgecombe County, NC | 99 | 21.1% | 39.1% |
| Wilson County, NC | 88 | 17.6% | 31.2% |
| Lenoir County, NC | 87 | 19.1% | 33.2% |
| Pitt County, NC | 83 | 19.8% | 23.9% |
| Martin County, NC | 81 | 19.7% | 43.9% |
| Greene County, NC | 75 | 19.9% | 27.6% |
| Beaufort County, NC | 68 | 16.1% | 33.2% |
| Craven County, NC | 59 | 12.7% | 29.0% |
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 Pitt County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Pitt County's poverty rate was 19.8% in 2024, 16th 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, Pitt County ranks 18th of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pitt 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 Pitt County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.