Benefit checks make up 39 cents of every dollar of income in Warren County, North Carolina
In Warren County, 39.0% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 91% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 85% of U.S. counties.
What drives Warren County's score
In Warren County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 83.7. About one in five people (22.2%, 2020 to 2024) has a disability, a higher share than in 89% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 83.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Warren 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.
Warren County does better than most counties on one measure: renters paying half their income or more in rent (14.3%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.1% · 202487th percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.8% · 202487th percentile
- People with a disability22.2% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
- People without health insurance10.8% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$55,287 · 202482nd percentile
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- 83.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.1% · August 202585th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.7% · August 202581st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score51.4% · second quarter of 202682nd percentile
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- 75.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.5% · August 202580th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people180.5 · 202570th percentile
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- 66.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202670th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.9% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
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- 45.5 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 rent14.3% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.0% · fiscal year 202762nd 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 Warren 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 Warren County, 27.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Warren County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Warren County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 39.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Warren County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 39.0%; 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 Warren County getting SNAP food aid rose by more than half to 23.1%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2009 to 2010, reaching 18.9%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Warren County, North Carolina.
How Warren County has changed
Warren County's population had its largest rise, from 18,139 in 1994 to 19,994 in 1999.
Warren County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2009 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 20,959 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Warren County, North Carolina.
The number of jobs located in Warren County had its largest drop, from 3,993 in 2005 to 3,387 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Warren County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 4,223 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Warren County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.0% | 2025 4.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 27.4% | 2024 20.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,222 | 2024 $55,287 |
The table uses 4.9% for 2025; the score uses 4.6% 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 Warren County's history
1779
Established in 1779 from the northern half of Bute County. Wikipedia
1860
County developed as tobacco and cotton farming area with plantations employing enslaved African Americans, one of the largest free black populations in antebellum North Carolina. Wikipedia
1950
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 23,539. The 2020 Census counted 18,642, 79% of the peak. Census Bureau
1970
The 1970s recession severely impacted Warren County; by 1980 it was one of the poorest counties in the state with unemployment peaking at 13.3 percent in 1982. Wikipedia
1999
A flash flood in September 1999 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
A flash flood in September 2020 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Warren County. FEMA
Warren County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Warren County, in North Carolina and Virginia, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Warren County ranks 4th of the seven; Halifax County is highest, at 41.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halifax County, NC | 98 | 18.8% | 41.6% |
| Vance County, NC | 96 | 18.1% | 38.9% |
| Northampton County, NC | 95 | 22.5% | 40.9% |
| Warren County, NC | 85 | 20.1% | 39.0% |
| Brunswick County, VA | 78 | 20.2% | 39.9% |
| 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 Warren County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Warren County's poverty rate was 20.1% in 2024, 12th 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, Warren County ranks 17th of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Warren 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 Warren 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 Warren County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.