Benefit checks make up 34 cents of every dollar of income in Jefferson County, Ohio
In Jefferson County, 33.9% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 79% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 72% of U.S. counties.
What drives Jefferson County's score
In Jefferson County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 73.2. Bankruptcy filings ran at 201.5 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 75% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 68.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Jefferson 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.
Jefferson County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (5.2%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (20.0%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 73.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.0% · August 202571st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people201.5 · 202575th percentile
-
- 68.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202669th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.6% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
-
- 65.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.0% · August 202559th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.5% · August 202567th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.6% · second quarter of 202668th percentile
-
- 63.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.7% · 202478th percentile
- Children below the poverty line25.6% · 202483rd percentile
- People with a disability17.4% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- People without health insurance5.2% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,327 · 202469th percentile
-
- 47.7 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 rent18.6% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.0% · fiscal year 202742nd 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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson County, 22.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Jefferson County
Ohio
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Jefferson County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 33.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Jefferson County, Ohio, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Jefferson County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise in the last span, from 15.4% in 2023 to 16.6% in 2024.
The share of households in Jefferson County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 16.6%
Low on the chart: 14.2% 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, Jefferson County, Ohio.
How Jefferson County has changed
Jefferson County's population had its largest drop, from 86,096 in 1984 to 81,085 in 1989.
Jefferson County's population fell by about a third from 1969 to 2024, reaching 63,900, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 2019 to 2024, reaching 63,900. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Jefferson County, Ohio.
The number of jobs located in Jefferson County had its largest drop, from 25,170 in 2005 to 22,213 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Jefferson County fell by about a quarter to 19,530, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 25,478 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Jefferson County, Ohio.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.3% | 2025 5.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.5% | 2024 17.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,783 | 2024 $60,327 |
The table uses 5.8% for 2025; the score uses 4.5% 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 Jefferson County's history
1797
Jefferson County was organized on July 29, 1797, by proclamation of Governor Arthur St. Clair, six years before Ohio was granted statehood. Wikipedia
1960
The county's largest recorded population was the 1960 Census count of 99,201. The 2020 Census counted 65,249, 66% of the peak. Census Bureau
1998
A flash flood in June 1998 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A thunderstorm in June 2008 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A flash flood in August 2014 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1972
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Jefferson County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Jefferson County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Jefferson County, in Ohio and West Virginia, one scores higher. Of the group, Jefferson County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (33.9%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hancock County, WV | 75 | 13.6% | 31.6% |
| Jefferson County, OH | 72 | 17.7% | 33.9% |
| Ohio County, WV | 71 | 19.2% | 25.6% |
| Columbiana County, OH | 69 | 14.7% | 32.4% |
| Belmont County, OH | 69 | 15.1% | 28.8% |
| Harrison County, OH | 66 | 13.8% | 31.2% |
| Brooke County, WV | 62 | 13.6% | 29.0% |
| Carroll County, OH | 42 | 11.6% | 26.7% |
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 Jefferson County the poorest county in Ohio?
No, Jefferson County's poverty rate was 17.7% in 2024, 6th 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, Jefferson County ranks 16th of 88 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.