Unemployment in Transylvania County, North Carolina, is lower than in 74% of U.S. counties
In Transylvania County, 3.4% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 74% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 55% of U.S. counties.
What drives Transylvania County's score
In Transylvania County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 83.0. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 20.4. Bankruptcy filings ran at 56.6 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 87% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Transylvania 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.
Even so, Transylvania County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (27.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.0 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent27.7% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.2% · fiscal year 202772nd percentile
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- 50.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.0% · 202440th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.9% · 202448th percentile
- People with a disability16.1% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- People without health insurance11.3% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$71,679 · 202436th percentile
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- 43.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202627th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.1% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
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- 36.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.5% · August 202533rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.0% · August 202546th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.0% · second quarter of 202629th percentile
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- 20.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.3% · August 202527th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people56.6 · 202512th 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 Transylvania 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 Transylvania County, 30.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Transylvania County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Transylvania County had its largest rise, from 19.3% in 1999 to 24.3% in 2004.
In Transylvania County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 27.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Transylvania County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Transylvania County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 12.8% in 2020 to 10.9% in 2021.
The share of households in Transylvania County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen to 11.3%
Low on the chart: 8.8% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Transylvania County, North Carolina.
How Transylvania County has changed
Transylvania County's population nearly doubled to 34,103, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2004 to 2009, reaching 32,852. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Transylvania County, North Carolina.
The number of jobs located in Transylvania County fell most sharply after its 2000 high, from 10,211 in 2000 to 8,590 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Transylvania County fell to its lowest on the chart in 2010, then climbed past the 1990 level
Low on the chart: 8,393 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Transylvania County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.6% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.1% | 2024 12.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,553 | 2024 $71,679 |
The table uses 3.7% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% 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 Transylvania County's history
1861
Apportioned on February 15, 1861, from lands previously attributed to neighboring Jackson and Henderson counties. Wikipedia
1998
A flash flood in January 1998 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 33,090. The 2020 Census counted 32,986, 100% of the peak. Census Bureau
2021
A flash flood in August 2021 did $6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
A flash flood in August 2021 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A flash flood in September 2024 did $50 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1993
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Transylvania County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Transylvania County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Transylvania County, in North Carolina and South Carolina, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Transylvania County ranks 4th of the seven; Haywood County is highest, at 32.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pickens County, SC | 67 | 15.6% | 25.5% |
| Oconee County, SC | 52 | 16.1% | 27.3% |
| Jackson County, NC | 50 | 16.9% | 29.1% |
| Haywood County, NC | 50 | 13.6% | 32.2% |
| Transylvania County, NC | 44 | 12.0% | 27.3% |
| Greenville County, SC | 43 | 9.9% | 19.2% |
| Henderson County, NC | 31 | 9.8% | 26.8% |
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 Transylvania County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Transylvania County's poverty rate was 12.0% in 2024, 77th 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, Transylvania County ranks 72nd of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Transylvania 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 Transylvania 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 Transylvania County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.