Benefit checks make up 32 cents of every dollar of income in Guernsey County, Ohio
In Guernsey County, 32.1% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 73% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 65% of U.S. counties.
What drives Guernsey County's score
In Guernsey County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 65.8. Unemployment averaged 4.6%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, higher than in 71% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 62.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Guernsey 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.
Guernsey County does better than most counties on one measure: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (19.1%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 65.8 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202671st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.4% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
-
- 62.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.8% · 202455th percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.0% · 202460th percentile
- People with a disability17.0% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
- People without health insurance11.9% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,931 · 202461st percentile
-
- 61.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.7% · August 202551st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people183.8 · 202570th percentile
-
- 59.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.6% · August 202552nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.3% · August 202566th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.0% · second quarter of 202659th percentile
-
- 46.6 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 rent19.8% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.1% · fiscal year 202733rd percentile
-
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 Guernsey 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 Guernsey County, 20.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Guernsey County
Ohio
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Guernsey County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 32.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Guernsey County, Ohio, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Guernsey County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 19.3% in 2017 to 17.3% in 2018.
The share of households in Guernsey County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 17.1%
Low on the chart: 15.8% 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, Guernsey County, Ohio.
How Guernsey County has changed
Guernsey County's population had its largest rise, from 37,607 in 1969 to 40,427 in 1974.
Guernsey County's population was about the same in 2024 as in 1969
High on the chart: 41,099 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Guernsey County, Ohio.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Guernsey County rose 14% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 2010 and 2015
High on the chart: 15,610 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Guernsey County, Ohio.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.7% | 2025 5.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.2% | 2024 13.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,689 | 2024 $62,931 |
The table uses 5.9% 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 Guernsey County's history
1810
Formed and organized March 10, 1810 from portions of Muskingum and Belmont counties. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 45,352. The 2020 Census counted 38,438, 85% of the peak. Census Bureau
1978
A tornado in June 1978 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A flash flood in June 1998 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1968
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Guernsey County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Guernsey County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Guernsey County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Guernsey County ranks 2nd of the seven; Coshocton County is highest, at 32.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belmont County, OH | 69 | 15.1% | 28.8% |
| Harrison County, OH | 66 | 13.8% | 31.2% |
| Guernsey County, OH | 65 | 13.8% | 32.1% |
| Coshocton County, OH | 63 | 11.6% | 32.3% |
| Muskingum County, OH | 60 | 13.0% | 29.5% |
| Tuscarawas County, OH | 43 | 11.3% | 22.3% |
| 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 Guernsey County the poorest county in Ohio?
No, Guernsey County's poverty rate was 13.8% in 2024, 28th 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, Guernsey County ranks 25th of 88 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Guernsey 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.
-
Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio (LASCO)
Legal aid
-
Ohio Legal Help
Legal help website
-
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 Guernsey 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 Guernsey County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.