About one in seven people with a credit file in Watauga County, North Carolina, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Watauga County, 13.9% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 85% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 63% of U.S. counties.
What drives Watauga County's score
In Watauga County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 94.9. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 7.9. Bankruptcy filings ran at 21.9 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Watauga 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, Watauga County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (41.9%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (26.7%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 94.9 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 rent41.9% · 2020 to 202499th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income26.7% · fiscal year 202790th percentile
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- 53.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.8% · 202489th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.0% · 202427th percentile
- People with a disability12.2% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
- People without health insurance9.3% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,832 · 202473rd percentile
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- 33.0 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 202626th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.0% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
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- 19.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.3% · August 202514th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.9% · August 202531st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.8% · second quarter of 202612th percentile
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- 7.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.9% · August 202514th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people21.9 · 20251st 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 Watauga 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 Watauga County, 17.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Watauga County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Watauga County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 20.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Watauga County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Watauga County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 5.9% in 2011 to 7.3% in 2012.
The share of households in Watauga County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 4.6% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Watauga County, North Carolina.
How Watauga County has changed
Watauga County's population had its largest rise, from 22,665 in 1969 to 29,647 in 1974.
Watauga County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 54,997, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 51,447. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Watauga County, North Carolina.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Watauga County nearly doubled to 24,591, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 18,300. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Watauga County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.5% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.0% | 2024 20.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,782 | 2024 $58,832 |
The table uses 3.5% 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 Watauga County's history
1849
Formed in 1849 from parts of Ashe, Caldwell, Wilkes, and Yancey counties. Wikipedia
2003
A flash flood in November 2003 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flash flood in March 2008 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flash flood in September 2011 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 54,086, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2024
A flash flood in September 2024 did $250 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Watauga County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Watauga County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Watauga County, in North Carolina and Tennessee, three score higher. Of the group, Watauga County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Johnson County gets the largest, at 39.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johnson County, TN | 78 | 20.9% | 39.0% |
| Caldwell County, NC | 60 | 14.0% | 33.7% |
| Wilkes County, NC | 59 | 15.3% | 33.5% |
| Avery County, NC | 36 | 15.8% | 28.0% |
| Watauga County, NC | 36 | 20.8% | 20.3% |
| Ashe County, NC | 33 | 15.5% | 34.0% |
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 Watauga County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Watauga County's poverty rate was 20.8% in 2024, 9th 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, Watauga County ranks 85th of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Watauga 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 Watauga 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 Watauga County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.