About one in two people with a credit file in Scotland County, North Carolina, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Scotland County, 45.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 94% of U.S. counties.
What drives Scotland County's score
In Scotland County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 97.1. Income and the safety net comes next, at 81.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Scotland 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.
Scotland County does better than most counties on one measure: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (119.3, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 97.1 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind12.6% · August 202598th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.7% · August 202596th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score60.1% · second quarter of 202696th percentile
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- 81.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line22.9% · 202493rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line34.7% · 202496th percentile
- People with a disability18.4% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
- People without health insurance9.9% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$55,335 · 202481st percentile
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- 73.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202676th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.3% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
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- 72.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector45.5% · August 202598th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people119.3 · 202546th percentile
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- 72.1 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 rent23.8% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.0% · fiscal year 202762nd 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 Scotland 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 Scotland County, 18.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Scotland County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Scotland County, benefit checks' share of income has grown since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 18% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Scotland County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income rose from 1969 to 2024, reaching 39.2%; 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 Scotland County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half to 31.6%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2009 to 2010, reaching 24.1%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Scotland County, North Carolina.
How Scotland County has changed
Scotland County's population had its largest rise, from 29,537 in 1974 to 32,056 in 1979.
Scotland County's population rose by about a quarter from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33,898
High on the chart: 36,446 in 2004. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Scotland County, North Carolina.
The number of jobs located in Scotland County had its largest drop, from 15,897 in 2005 to 12,311 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Scotland County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 18,063 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Scotland County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.7% | 2025 5.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.7% | 2024 22.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,535 | 2024 $55,335 |
The table uses 5.3% for 2025; the score uses 4.8% 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 Scotland County's history
1894
Railway shops moved out 1894 combined with low cotton prices caused economic depression. Wikipedia
2003
Hail in May 2003 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 36,157. The 2020 Census counted 34,174, 95% of the peak. Census Bureau
2016
A flash flood in October 2016 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A flash flood in September 2018 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A flood in September 2018 did $5.41 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1984
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Scotland County. FEMA
Scotland County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Scotland County, in North Carolina and South Carolina, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Scotland County ranks 3rd of the five; Robeson County is highest, at 41.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marlboro County, SC | 98 | 30.2% | 40.5% |
| Robeson County, NC | 97 | 23.7% | 41.0% |
| Scotland County, NC | 94 | 22.9% | 39.2% |
| Richmond County, NC | 93 | 21.5% | 38.1% |
| Hoke County, NC | 78 | 16.2% | 32.8% |
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 Scotland County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Scotland County's poverty rate was 22.9% in 2024, 2nd 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, Scotland County ranks 8th of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Scotland 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 Scotland 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 Scotland County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.