About two in five adults aged 25 to 54 in Tyrrell County, North Carolina, are not working
In Tyrrell County, 44.7% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 72% of U.S. counties.
What drives Tyrrell County's score
In Tyrrell County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 88.2. Income and the safety net comes next, at 87.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Tyrrell 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.
Tyrrell County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (8.2%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (57.8, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 88.2 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202681st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working44.7% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 87.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.5% · 202485th percentile
- Children below the poverty line25.2% · 202482nd percentile
- People with a disability23.2% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- People without health insurance13.9% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$49,846 · 202491st percentile
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- 58.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.6% · August 202520th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202571st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score51.2% · second quarter of 202682nd percentile
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- 44.4 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 rent8.2% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.4% · fiscal year 202780th 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 collector27.7% · August 202566th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people57.8 · 202513th 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 Tyrrell 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 Tyrrell County, 30.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Tyrrell County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Tyrrell County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 34.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Tyrrell County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Tyrrell County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 20.8% in 2020 to 24.5% in 2021.
The share of households in Tyrrell County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2017, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 18.9% in 2017. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Tyrrell County, North Carolina.
How Tyrrell County has changed
Tyrrell County's population fell most sharply on the way to its 2019 low, from 3,892 in 2014 to 3,319 in 2019.
Tyrrell County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2009 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 4,358 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Tyrrell County, North Carolina.
The number of jobs located in Tyrrell County had its largest drop, from 1,146 in 2015 to 994 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Tyrrell County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and is down 15% since
High on the chart: 1,146 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Tyrrell County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.2% | 2025 5.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 26.4% | 2024 19.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,590 | 2024 $49,846 |
The table uses 5.4% for 2025; the score uses 5.0% 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 Tyrrell County's history
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 5,556. The 2020 Census counted 3,245, 58% of the peak. Census Bureau
1990
A thunderstorm in July 1990 killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1998
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Tyrrell County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Tyrrell County beside its neighbors
All two counties that border Tyrrell County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Tyrrell County ranks 2nd of the three; Washington County is highest, at 44.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington County, NC | 96 | 19.9% | 44.7% |
| Hyde County, NC | 88 | 20.7% | 27.4% |
| Tyrrell County, NC | 72 | 19.5% | 34.8% |
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 Tyrrell County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Tyrrell County's poverty rate was 19.5% in 2024, 18th 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, Tyrrell County ranks 33rd of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Tyrrell 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 Tyrrell 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 Tyrrell County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.