About one in five people in Surry County, North Carolina, has a disability
In Surry County, 19.1% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 74% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 61% of U.S. counties.
What drives Surry County's score
In Surry County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 76.4. The typical household earns $55,191 a year (2024), less than in 82% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 73.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Surry 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.
Surry County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (70, 2025) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.3%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 76.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.7% · 202474th percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.9% · 202479th percentile
- People with a disability19.1% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- People without health insurance10.8% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$55,191 · 202482nd percentile
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- 73.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.4% · August 202587th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.8% · August 202570th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.4% · second quarter of 202661st percentile
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- 55.5 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 rent17.8% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.0% · fiscal year 202762nd percentile
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- 42.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202624th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.6% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
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- 40.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector26.1% · August 202560th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people70 · 202519th 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 Surry 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 Surry County, 20.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Surry County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Surry County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 30.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Surry County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 30.4%; 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 Surry County getting SNAP food aid doubled to 19.5%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2011, reaching 14.1%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Surry County, North Carolina.
How Surry County has changed
Surry County's population had its largest rise, from 65,862 in 1994 to 70,942 in 1999.
Surry County's population rose 41% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 73,505 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Surry County, North Carolina.
The number of jobs located in Surry County had its largest drop, from 36,436 in 2000 to 31,740 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Surry County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 36,890 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Surry County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.6% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.7% | 2024 16.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,910 | 2024 $55,191 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.3% 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 Surry County's history
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 73,673. The 2020 Census counted 71,359, 97% of the peak. Census Bureau
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Surry County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Surry County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Surry County, in North Carolina and Virginia, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Surry County ranks 6th of the eight; Patrick County is highest, at 40.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grayson County, VA | 65 | 17.6% | 38.5% |
| Carroll County, VA | 65 | 14.4% | — |
| Surry County, NC | 61 | 16.7% | 30.4% |
| Alleghany County, NC | 61 | 15.1% | 36.2% |
| Forsyth County, NC | 60 | 13.3% | 22.1% |
| Patrick County, VA | 60 | 16.6% | 40.1% |
| Wilkes County, NC | 59 | 15.3% | 33.5% |
| Stokes County, NC | 49 | 11.8% | 32.2% |
| Yadkin County, NC | 44 | 14.5% | 29.2% |
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 Surry County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Surry County's poverty rate was 16.7% in 2024, 31st 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, Surry County ranks 46th of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Surry 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 Surry County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.