About one in six people in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, lives below the poverty line
In Crawford County, 16.8% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 74% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 57% of U.S. counties.
What drives Crawford County's score
In Crawford County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 69.8. Jobs come next, at 63.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Crawford 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.
Crawford County does better than most counties on two measures: people with unpaid debt sent to a collector (20.3%, August 2025) and people with a subprime credit score (38.2%, Q2 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 69.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.8% · 202474th percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.7% · 202474th percentile
- People with a disability17.8% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- People without health insurance9.0% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,757 · 202473rd percentile
-
- 63.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202653rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.9% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
-
- 53.7 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 rent19.3% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.7% · fiscal year 202750th percentile
-
- 45.9 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 behind4.9% · August 202546th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score38.2% · second quarter of 202642nd percentile
-
- 43.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector20.3% · August 202539th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people120.7 · 202547th 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 Crawford 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 Crawford County, 22.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Crawford County
Pennsylvania
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Crawford County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 32.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Crawford County, Pennsylvania, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.1%; 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 Crawford County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half to 18.7%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2011, reaching 14.5%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Crawford County, Pennsylvania.
How Crawford County has changed
Crawford County's population rose most sharply from its first year (81,007 in 1969) to 86,133 in 1974.
Crawford County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 90,149 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Crawford County, Pennsylvania.
The number of jobs located in Crawford County fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 31,073 in 2015 to 28,020 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Crawford County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 32,225 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Crawford County, Pennsylvania.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.4% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.9% | 2024 16.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,765 | 2024 $58,757 |
The table uses 4.4% for 2025; the score uses 4.0% 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 Crawford County's history
1788
David Mead and settlers established Meadville May 1788. Wikipedia
1980
A tornado in July 1980 did $250 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1985
A tornado in May 1985 did $25 million in property damage and killed eight people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1985
A tornado in May 1985 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 90,366. The 2020 Census counted 83,938, 93% of the peak. Census Bureau
2003
A flash flood in July 2003 did $30 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1972
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Crawford County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Crawford County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Crawford County, in Pennsylvania and Ohio, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Crawford County ranks 4th of the seven; Venango County is highest, at 37.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashtabula County, OH | 75 | 15.2% | 33.1% |
| Trumbull County, OH | 75 | 13.3% | 31.3% |
| Crawford County, PA | 57 | 16.8% | 32.1% |
| Mercer County, PA | 54 | 13.1% | 31.5% |
| Erie County, PA | 54 | 14.7% | 27.8% |
| Venango County, PA | 51 | 13.2% | 37.9% |
| Warren County, PA | 31 | 10.1% | 33.3% |
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 Crawford County the poorest county in Pennsylvania?
No, Crawford County's poverty rate was 16.8% in 2024, 4th 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, Crawford County ranks 11th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Crawford 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.
-
Center for Family Services, Incorporated
HUD-approved housing counselor
-
Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network (PLAN)
Legal aid
-
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 Crawford 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 Crawford County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.