About one in nine people in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, lives below the poverty line
In Bradford County, 11.6% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 64% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 63% of U.S. counties.
What drives Bradford County's score
In Bradford County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 55.0. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 32.7. Bankruptcy filings ran at 72 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 79% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Bradford 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.
Bradford 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.
- 55.0 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202646th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.9% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
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- 42.6 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 rent14.5% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.3% · fiscal year 202756th percentile
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- 42.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.6% · 202436th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.9% · 202427th percentile
- People with a disability15.4% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- People without health insurance6.7% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,009 · 202464th percentile
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- 36.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.7% · August 202535th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.3% · August 202536th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score37.3% · second quarter of 202638th percentile
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- 32.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.9% · August 202545th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people72 · 202520th 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 Bradford 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 Bradford County, 22.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Bradford County
Pennsylvania
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Bradford County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 28.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Bradford County, Pennsylvania, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.5%; 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 Bradford County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half to 14.5%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2021, reaching 12.1%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Bradford County, Pennsylvania.
How Bradford County has changed
Bradford County's population rose 4% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1969 and 1974
High on the chart: 62,701 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Bradford County, Pennsylvania.
The number of jobs located in Bradford County had its largest drop, from 24,275 in 2015 to 21,248 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Bradford County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and is down 8% since
High on the chart: 24,275 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Bradford County, Pennsylvania.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.7% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.9% | 2024 11.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,621 | 2024 $62,009 |
The table uses 4.2% 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 Bradford County's history
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 62,919. The 2020 Census counted 59,967, 95% of the peak. Census Bureau
1996
A flash flood in January 1996 did $21.1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2004
A flash flood in September 2004 did $20 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
A flash flood in June 2006 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
Lightning in July 2020 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Bradford County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Bradford County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Bradford County, in Pennsylvania and New York, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Bradford County ranks 4th of the eight; Sullivan County is highest, at 32.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chemung County, NY | 62 | 14.2% | 29.2% |
| Lycoming County, PA | 52 | 15.1% | 27.6% |
| Susquehanna County, PA | 41 | 12.1% | 25.8% |
| Tioga County, NY | 41 | 10.8% | 25.0% |
| Bradford County, PA | 36 | 11.6% | 28.5% |
| Tioga County, PA | 35 | 11.4% | 31.0% |
| Wyoming County, PA | 33 | 9.7% | 25.6% |
| Sullivan County, PA | 22 | 12.8% | 32.7% |
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 Bradford County the poorest county in Pennsylvania?
No, Bradford County's poverty rate was 11.6% in 2024, 37th 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, Bradford County ranks 38th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Bradford 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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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.
Download the CSV for Bradford 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 Bradford County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.