About one in eight people in Blair County, Pennsylvania, lives below the poverty line
In Blair County, 12.0% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 60% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 57% of U.S. counties.
What drives Blair County's score
In Blair County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 53.3. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 35.3. Bankruptcy filings ran at 76.5 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 76% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Blair 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.
Blair 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.
- 53.3 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.2% · August 202562nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.5% · August 202540th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.3% · second quarter of 202657th percentile
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- 49.1 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 rent17.3% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.9% · fiscal year 202752nd percentile
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- 46.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202644th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.4% · 2020 to 202448th percentile
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- 43.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.0% · 202440th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.8% · 202448th percentile
- People with a disability15.9% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- People without health insurance5.8% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,984 · 202452nd percentile
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- 35.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.5% · August 202547th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people76.5 · 202523rd 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 Blair 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 Blair County, 21.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Blair County
Pennsylvania
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Blair County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 28.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Blair County, Pennsylvania, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Blair County getting SNAP food aid rose most from 11.5% in 2010 to 14.1% in 2012, 1.3 points each year.
The share of households in Blair County getting SNAP food aid rose by more than half to 17.9%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2011, reaching 12.8%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Blair County, Pennsylvania.
How Blair County has changed
Blair County's population fell most sharply after its 1979 high, from 137,966 in 1979 to 132,925 in 1984.
Blair County's population fell 11% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 137,966 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Blair County, Pennsylvania.
The number of jobs located in Blair County had its largest rise, from 54,176 in 1995 to 57,786 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Blair County rose 15% from 1990 to 2025
High on the chart: 59,490 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Blair County, Pennsylvania.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.4% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.1% | 2024 12.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,141 | 2024 $65,984 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 3.8% 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 Blair County's history
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 140,358. The 2020 Census counted 122,822, 88% of the peak. Census Bureau
1988
A tornado in November 1988 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
A flash flood in January 1996 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Blair County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Blair County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Blair County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Blair County ranks 4th of the six; Cambria County is highest, at 35.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cambria County, PA | 51 | 14.5% | 35.3% |
| Clearfield County, PA | 46 | 14.9% | 27.2% |
| Blair County, PA | 42 | 12.0% | 28.2% |
| Bedford County, PA | 38 | 11.7% | 30.3% |
| Huntingdon County, PA | 28 | 10.7% | 30.7% |
| Centre County, PA | 18 | 14.3% | 17.5% |
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 Blair County the poorest county in Pennsylvania?
No, Blair County's poverty rate was 12.0% in 2024, 32nd highest of 67 in Pennsylvania (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Forest County, at 22.8%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Blair County ranks 32nd of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Blair 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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MidPenn Legal Services
Legal aid
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Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network (PLAN)
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.
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 Blair County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.