Unemployment in Yancey County, North Carolina, is lower than in 78% of U.S. counties
In Yancey County, 3.3% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 78% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 54% of U.S. counties.
What drives Yancey County's score
In Yancey County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 61.2. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 33.2. Bankruptcy filings ran at 52.8 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 89% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Yancey 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.
Yancey County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 61.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.5% · 202460th percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.8% · 202463rd percentile
- People with a disability18.9% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- People without health insurance7.2% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,198 · 202463rd percentile
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- 56.7 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 rent21.1% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.3% · fiscal year 202745th percentile
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- 49.8 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 202625th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.1% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
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- 34.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.1% · August 202526th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.3% · August 202535th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score38.1% · second quarter of 202642nd percentile
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- 33.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector24.6% · August 202555th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people52.8 · 202510th 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 Yancey 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 Yancey County, 27.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Yancey County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Yancey County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 35.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a quarter more than benefit checks
In Yancey County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Yancey County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 15.2% in 2019 to 12.1% in 2020.
The share of households in Yancey County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 13.8%
Low on the chart: 11.6% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Yancey County, North Carolina.
How Yancey County has changed
Yancey County's population rose by about half to 18,993, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 14,864. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Yancey County, North Carolina.
The number of jobs located in Yancey County had its largest drop, from 4,900 in 2000 to 3,952 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Yancey County fell to its lowest on the chart in 2010, then climbed past the 1990 level
Low on the chart: 3,646 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Yancey County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.8% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.0% | 2024 14.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,410 | 2024 $62,198 |
The table uses 4.4% 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 Yancey County's history
1833
Created in December 1833 from sections of Burke and Buncombe counties. Wikipedia
2004
Avondale Mills and Taylor Togs textile factories closed 2004. Wikipedia
2016
Lightning in July 2016 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 18,470, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2024
A flash flood in September 2024 did $75 million in property damage and killed nine people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A flash flood in September 2024 did $20 million in property damage and killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Yancey County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Yancey County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Yancey County, in North Carolina and Tennessee, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Yancey County ranks 3rd of the six; Unicoi County is highest, at 37.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unicoi County, TN | 71 | 14.4% | 37.8% |
| McDowell County, NC | 61 | 15.5% | 36.2% |
| Madison County, NC | 56 | 14.9% | 33.4% |
| Buncombe County, NC | 45 | 12.4% | 20.9% |
| Yancey County, NC | 45 | 14.5% | 35.9% |
| Mitchell County, NC | 39 | 13.5% | 34.3% |
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 Yancey County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Yancey County's poverty rate was 14.5% in 2024, 49th 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, Yancey County ranks 70th of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Yancey 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 Yancey 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 Yancey County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.