About one in four adults aged 25 to 54 in Fayette County, Ohio, is not working
In Fayette County, 26.5% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 79% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 65% of U.S. counties.
What drives Fayette County's score
In Fayette County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 82.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 274.1 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 88% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 72.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Fayette 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.
Fayette County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (17.9%, fiscal year 2027) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (15.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 82.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.9% · August 202576th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people274.1 · 202588th percentile
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- 72.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.3% · August 202563rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.7% · August 202580th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score47.2% · second quarter of 202672nd percentile
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- 64.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202648th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working26.5% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
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- 49.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.1% · 202440th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.8% · 202448th percentile
- People with a disability16.6% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- People without health insurance9.0% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$68,224 · 202445th percentile
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- 28.0 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 rent15.7% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.9% · fiscal year 202720th 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 Fayette 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 Fayette County, 17.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Fayette County
Ohio
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Fayette County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 30.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Fayette County, Ohio, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 30.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Fayette County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 17.3% in 2012 to 20.1% in 2013.
The share of households in Fayette County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 14.3%
Low on the chart: 10.4% 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, Fayette County, Ohio.
How Fayette County has changed
Fayette County's population had its largest rise, from 25,402 in 1969 to 26,661 in 1974.
Fayette County's population rose 13% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 28,929 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Fayette County, Ohio.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Fayette County rose by about half to 11,945, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 9,532. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Fayette County, Ohio.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.2% | 2025 5.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.6% | 2024 12.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,507 | 2024 $68,224 |
The table uses 5.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Fayette County's history
1810
Formed March 1, 1810 from portions of Highland and Ross Counties. Wikipedia
1986
A tornado in March 1986 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1990
A tornado in September 1990 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 29,030. The 2020 Census counted 28,951, 100% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1968
11 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Fayette County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Fayette County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Fayette County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Fayette County ranks 3rd of the seven; Highland County is highest, at 31.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ross County, OH | 81 | 13.4% | 31.3% |
| Fayette County, OH | 65 | 12.1% | 30.7% |
| Highland County, OH | 55 | 14.6% | 31.4% |
| Clinton County, OH | 50 | 11.9% | 26.1% |
| Pickaway County, OH | 48 | 9.3% | 22.5% |
| Madison County, OH | 32 | 8.8% | 19.7% |
| Greene County, OH | 21 | 9.9% | 19.1% |
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 Fayette County the poorest county in Ohio?
No, Fayette County's poverty rate was 12.1% in 2024, 44th 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, Fayette County ranks 24th of 88 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Fayette 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 Fayette 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 Fayette County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.