Benefit checks make up 37 cents of every dollar of income in Rutherford County, North Carolina
In Rutherford County, 37.0% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 87% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 75% of U.S. counties.
What drives Rutherford County's score
In Rutherford County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 76.2. People with a car or retail loan behind: 8.2%, August 2025, higher than in 84% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 74.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Rutherford 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.
Rutherford County does better than most counties on one measure: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (53.4, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 76.2 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.0% · August 202573rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.2% · August 202584th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score46.1% · second quarter of 202670th percentile
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- 74.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.8% · 202463rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.4% · 202466th percentile
- People with a disability21.2% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
- People without health insurance12.0% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$57,208 · 202477th percentile
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- 71.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202661st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.3% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
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- 59.9 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 rent20.5% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.2% · fiscal year 202755th percentile
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- 44.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.2% · August 202577th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people53.4 · 202510th 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 Rutherford 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 Rutherford County, 22.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Rutherford County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Rutherford County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, but pay from work still brings in 29% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Rutherford County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 37.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Rutherford County getting SNAP food aid moved most in three steps: 15.3% in 2011 to 18.2% in 2012; 18.2% in 2012 to 21.1% in 2013; 19.9% in 2017 to 17.0% in 2018.
The share of households in Rutherford County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 19.5%
Low on the chart: 13.6% 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, Rutherford County, North Carolina.
How Rutherford County has changed
Rutherford County's population had its largest rise, from 59,430 in 1994 to 62,511 in 1999.
Rutherford County's population rose 38% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 67,561 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Rutherford County, North Carolina.
The number of jobs located in Rutherford County had its largest drop, from 21,901 in 2005 to 17,648 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Rutherford County fell 29% from 1990 to 2020, then turned up in 2025
High on the chart: 25,844 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Rutherford County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.3% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.2% | 2024 14.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,118 | 2024 $57,208 |
The table uses 4.8% for 2025; the score uses 4.3% 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 Rutherford County's history
1790
Gold mining, most important gold-producing region in America. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 67,810. The 2020 Census counted 64,444, 95% of the peak. Census Bureau
2011
A thunderstorm in April 2011 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A thunderstorm in May 2011 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A thunderstorm in August 2013 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A flash flood in September 2024 did $35 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Rutherford County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Rutherford County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Rutherford County, in North Carolina and South Carolina, two score higher. Of the group, Rutherford County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (37.0%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cherokee County, SC | 82 | 16.4% | 32.6% |
| Cleveland County, NC | 80 | 16.3% | 33.4% |
| Rutherford County, NC | 75 | 14.8% | 37.0% |
| Spartanburg County, SC | 66 | 12.5% | 22.1% |
| Burke County, NC | 63 | 14.0% | 31.2% |
| McDowell County, NC | 61 | 15.5% | 36.2% |
| Buncombe County, NC | 45 | 12.4% | 20.9% |
| Henderson County, NC | 31 | 9.8% | 26.8% |
| Polk County, NC | 23 | 12.3% | 27.3% |
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 Rutherford County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Rutherford County's poverty rate was 14.8% in 2024, 48th 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, Rutherford County ranks 29th of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Rutherford 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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Pisgah Legal Services
Legal aid
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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 Rutherford 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 Rutherford County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.