About two in five people with a credit file in Vance County, North Carolina, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Vance County, 40.8% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 95% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 96% of U.S. counties.
What drives Vance County's score
In Vance County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 96.4. People with a credit card behind: 11.0%, August 2025, higher than in 97% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 81.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Vance 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.
Vance County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 96.4 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind11.0% · August 202597th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.4% · August 202595th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score60.1% · second quarter of 202696th percentile
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- 81.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.1% · 202480th percentile
- Children below the poverty line26.6% · 202485th percentile
- People with a disability18.7% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- People without health insurance13.2% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,441 · 202483rd percentile
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- 78.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector40.8% · August 202595th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people156 · 202561st percentile
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- 75.7 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 rent24.8% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.3% · fiscal year 202765th percentile
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- 74.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202666th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.3% · 2020 to 202482nd 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 Vance 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 Vance County, 19.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Vance County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Vance County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 38.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a fifth more than benefit checks
In Vance County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 38.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Vance County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 23.7% in 2014 to 25.8% in 2015.
The share of households in Vance County getting SNAP food aid rose by about a third from 2009 to 2024, reaching 24.3%
High on the chart: 25.9% in 2016. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Vance County, North Carolina.
How Vance County has changed
Vance County's population had its largest rise, from 33,895 in 1974 to 36,427 in 1979.
Vance County's population rose 29% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 45,223 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Vance County, North Carolina.
The number of jobs located in Vance County fell most sharply after its 2000 high, from 19,024 in 2000 to 16,008 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Vance County fell by about a quarter from 1990 to 2020, reaching 13,522, then turned up in 2025
High on the chart: 19,024 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Vance County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.1% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.3% | 2024 18.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,695 | 2024 $54,441 |
The table uses 4.6% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 Vance County's history
1881
Formed by the legislature in 1881 from parts of Franklin, Granville, and Warren counties. Wikipedia
1995
A tornado in October 1995 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
A flash flood in August 2002 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 45,422. The 2020 Census counted 42,578, 94% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Vance County. FEMA
Vance County beside its neighbors
Vance County scores higher than all four counties that border it, in North Carolina and Virginia. For the share of income from benefit checks, Vance County ranks 2nd of the five; Warren County is highest, at 39.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vance County, NC | 96 | 18.1% | 38.9% |
| Warren County, NC | 85 | 20.1% | 39.0% |
| Granville County, NC | 67 | 13.5% | 23.8% |
| Franklin County, NC | 67 | 12.6% | 23.3% |
| Mecklenburg County, VA | 61 | 14.5% | 37.2% |
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 Vance County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Vance County's poverty rate was 18.1% in 2024, 24th 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, Vance County ranks 5th of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Vance 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 Vance County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.