Benefit checks make up 38 cents of every dollar of income in Swain County, North Carolina
In Swain County, 38.0% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 89% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 63% of U.S. counties.
What drives Swain County's score
In Swain County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 75.3. People with a credit card behind: 7.6%, August 2025, higher than in 80% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 73.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Swain 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.
Swain County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (21.6, 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.
- 75.3 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.6% · August 202580th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.3% · August 202565th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score50.1% · second quarter of 202680th percentile
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- 73.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.6% · 202468th percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.0% · 202472nd percentile
- People with a disability15.7% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- People without health insurance23.8% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$53,257 · 202485th percentile
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- 51.9 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 202625th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working26.2% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
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- 51.0 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 rent15.1% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.8% · fiscal year 202769th percentile
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- 40.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.0% · August 202576th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people21.6 · 20255th or lower 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 Swain 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 Swain County, 19.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Swain County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Swain County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 38.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a fifth more than benefit checks
In Swain County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 38.0%; 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 Swain County getting SNAP food aid doubled to 14.7%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2011 to 2012, reaching 10.8%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Swain County, North Carolina.
How Swain County has changed
Swain County's population had its largest rise, from 8,276 in 1969 to 9,357 in 1974.
Swain County's population nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 13,945
High on the chart: 14,224 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Swain County, North Carolina.
The number of jobs located in Swain County had its largest drop in the last span, from 9,648 in 2020 to 6,871 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Swain County was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and is down 29% since
High on the chart: 9,648 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Swain County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 12.5% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 21.9% | 2024 15.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,756 | 2024 $53,257 |
The table uses 3.7% 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 Swain County's history
1871
Formed in 1871 during the Reconstruction era from parts of Jackson and Macon counties. Wikipedia
2013
A flood in January 2013 did $3.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A debris flow in January 2013 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A thunderstorm in July 2014 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 14,117, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1993
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Swain County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Swain County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Swain County, in North Carolina and Tennessee, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Swain County ranks 2nd of the seven; Graham County is highest, at 38.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graham County, NC | 77 | 16.4% | 38.7% |
| Swain County, NC | 63 | 15.6% | 38.0% |
| Sevier County, TN | 55 | 13.2% | 22.1% |
| Jackson County, NC | 50 | 16.9% | 29.1% |
| Haywood County, NC | 50 | 13.6% | 32.2% |
| Macon County, NC | 39 | 12.2% | 32.6% |
| Blount County, TN | 33 | 9.2% | 21.7% |
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 Swain County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Swain County's poverty rate was 15.6% in 2024, 40th 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, Swain County ranks 43rd of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Swain 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 Swain County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.