Benefit checks make up 35 cents of every dollar of income in Cambria County, Pennsylvania
In Cambria County, 35.3% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 83% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 51% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cambria County's score
In Cambria County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 57.1. Unemployment averaged 4.5%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, higher than in 70% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 53.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cambria 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.
Cambria County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (3.3%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a car or retail loan behind (4.3%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 57.1 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202670th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.6% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
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- 53.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.5% · 202460th percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.2% · 202469th percentile
- People with a disability18.0% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- People without health insurance3.3% · 2020 to 20243rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,223 · 202467th percentile
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- 51.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.8% · August 202545th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people146.2 · 202558th percentile
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- 47.4 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 rent18.8% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.9% · fiscal year 202740th percentile
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- 45.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.4% · August 202548th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.3% · August 202535th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score40.4% · second quarter of 202650th 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 Cambria 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 Cambria County, 23.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cambria County
Pennsylvania
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Cambria County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 35.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Cambria County, Pennsylvania, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.3%; 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 Cambria County getting SNAP food aid doubled to 18.9%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2011, reaching 12.9%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Cambria County, Pennsylvania.
How Cambria County has changed
Cambria County's population had its largest drop, from 175,730 in 1984 to 163,970 in 1989.
Cambria County's population fell by about a third to 130,108, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 188,475 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cambria County, Pennsylvania.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Cambria County fell 17% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 2015 and 2020
High on the chart: 58,304 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cambria County, Pennsylvania.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.5% | 2025 5.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.3% | 2024 14.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,120 | 2024 $61,223 |
The table uses 5.0% 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 Cambria County's history
1796
Welsh settlers arrived November 1796, founded Ebensburg. Wikipedia
1804
Created March 26, 1804, from parts of Bedford, Huntingdon, and Somerset counties; organized 1807. Wikipedia
1856
Lucrative lumber industry. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 213,459. The 2020 Census counted 133,472, 63% of the peak. Census Bureau
1980
A tornado in June 1980 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
A thunderstorm in August 1999 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
Lightning in August 2005 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cambria County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cambria County beside its neighbors
Cambria County scores higher than all six counties that border it. Of the group, Cambria County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (35.3%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cambria County, PA | 51 | 14.5% | 35.3% |
| Indiana County, PA | 51 | 16.0% | 30.0% |
| Clearfield County, PA | 46 | 14.9% | 27.2% |
| Blair County, PA | 42 | 12.0% | 28.2% |
| Bedford County, PA | 38 | 11.7% | 30.3% |
| Westmoreland County, PA | 33 | 10.5% | 24.6% |
| Somerset County, PA | 32 | 12.4% | 31.1% |
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 Cambria County the poorest county in Pennsylvania?
No, Cambria County's poverty rate was 14.5% in 2024, 12th 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, Cambria County ranks 19th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cambria 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 Cambria 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 Cambria County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.