About one in seven people in Belmont County, Ohio, lives below the poverty line
In Belmont County, 15.1% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 65% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 69% of U.S. counties.
What drives Belmont County's score
In Belmont County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 68.1. People with a car or retail loan behind: 6.8%, August 2025, higher than in 70% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 64.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Belmont 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.
Belmont County does better than most counties on one measure: people without health insurance (5.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 68.1 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.6% · August 202567th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.8% · August 202570th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.1% · second quarter of 202666th percentile
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- 64.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector25.6% · August 202558th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people180.2 · 202569th percentile
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- 64.1 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 202664th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.0% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
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- 56.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.1% · 202465th percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.1% · 202460th percentile
- People with a disability16.7% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- People without health insurance5.5% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,332 · 202475th percentile
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- 53.3 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 rent19.0% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.8% · fiscal year 202751st 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 Belmont 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 Belmont County, 22.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Belmont County
Ohio
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Belmont County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 28.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Belmont County, Ohio, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.8%; 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 Belmont County getting SNAP food aid rose by about a third to 15.2%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2012 to 2013, reaching 13.3%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Belmont County, Ohio.
How Belmont County has changed
Belmont County's population had its largest drop, from 79,285 in 1984 to 72,239 in 1989.
Belmont County's population fell by about a fifth to 64,692, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 83,377 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Belmont County, Ohio.
The number of jobs located in Belmont County fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 23,615 in 2015 to 19,742 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Belmont County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 16% since
High on the chart: 24,455 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Belmont County, Ohio.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.5% | 2025 5.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.4% | 2024 15.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,880 | 2024 $58,332 |
The table uses 5.6% 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 Belmont County's history
1801
September 7, 1801 (created) November 7, 1801 (organized). Wikipedia
1866
Coal extraction until Cincinnati. Wikipedia
1881
Glass factories peaked at 15. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 95,614. The 2020 Census counted 66,497, 70% of the peak. Census Bureau
1998
A flash flood in June 1998 did $5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
Lightning in June 1998 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
Lightning in May 2010 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flash flood in June 2011 did $1.3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Belmont County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Belmont County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Belmont County, in Ohio and West Virginia, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Belmont County ranks 6th of the eight; Monroe County is highest, at 35.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County, OH | 72 | 17.7% | 33.9% |
| Marshall County, WV | 72 | 17.6% | 27.8% |
| Ohio County, WV | 71 | 19.2% | 25.6% |
| Belmont County, OH | 69 | 15.1% | 28.8% |
| Harrison County, OH | 66 | 13.8% | 31.2% |
| Guernsey County, OH | 65 | 13.8% | 32.1% |
| Monroe County, OH | 46 | 13.8% | 35.9% |
| Noble County, OH | 39 | 13.9% | 30.3% |
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 Belmont County the poorest county in Ohio?
No, Belmont County's poverty rate was 15.1% in 2024, 14th highest of 88 in Ohio (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Athens County, at 25.3%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Belmont County ranks 20th of 88 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Belmont 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 Southeast and Central Ohio (LASCO)
Legal aid
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Ohio Legal Help
Legal help website
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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 Belmont 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 Belmont County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.