Carbon County, Pennsylvania

County Distress Index: Elevated · 54.6 | 65,458 people · 9th most distressed in Pennsylvania

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Carbon County, PA registers elevated household financial distress with a score of 54.6 — 1241st nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Employment & Wages, where unemployment is elevated, wages are low relative to housing costs, and business formation lags. Within Pennsylvania, it ranks 9th of 67 counties. Among its 5 neighboring counties, 4 show less distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Carbon County's primary driver is Employment & Wages at 74.3 — above the national median.

Employment & Wages Primary driver 74.3
Unemployment Rate 61
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 98
Business Formation Rate 64
Housing Cost Burden 61.2
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 50
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 51
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 75
Homeownership Rate 34
Rent-to-Income Ratio 96
Debt & Delinquency 54.8
Debt in Collections 50
Medical Debt 52
Student Loan Delinquency 38
Auto Loan Delinquency 59
Credit Card Delinquency 62
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 69
Income & Poverty 43.0
Poverty Rate 38
Income vs. State Median 43
Child Poverty Rate 49
Community Vulnerability 39.6
Uninsured Rate 22
Disability Rate 57

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Carbon County compares to its 5 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Carbon County
Carbon County, PA 54.6 Elevated
Luzerne County, PA 60.9 Elevated +6.3
Monroe County, PA 53.3 Elevated -1.3
Schuylkill County, PA 52.7 Elevated -1.9
Lehigh County, PA 52.3 Elevated -2.3
Northampton County, PA 44.5 Normal -10.1

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Carbon County
Cowlitz County, WA 54.5 Elevated -0.0
Lee County, NC 54.5 Elevated -0.0
Jackson County, OR 54.5 Elevated -0.1
Flagler County, FL 54.5 Elevated -0.1
Dorchester County, SC 54.7 Elevated +0.1

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