About one in 12 people in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, lives below the poverty line
In Cumberland County, 8.1% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 91% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 83% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cumberland County's score
In Cumberland County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 56.0. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 16.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cumberland 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.
Cumberland 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.
- 56.0 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent19.4% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.1% · fiscal year 202754th percentile
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- 31.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.7% · August 202529th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people97.1 · 202534th percentile
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- 26.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.5% · August 202533rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.9% · August 202530th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score30.8% · second quarter of 202615th percentile
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- 19.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202620th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.3% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
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- 16.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.1% · 20248th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.7% · 202416th percentile
- People with a disability13.1% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- People without health insurance5.4% · 2020 to 202424th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$90,939 · 202410th 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 Cumberland 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 Cumberland County, 19.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cumberland County
Pennsylvania
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Cumberland County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 18.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than three times as much as benefit checks
In Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 18.0%; 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 Cumberland County getting SNAP food aid more than doubled to 7.8%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2011 to 2012, reaching 5.3%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.
How Cumberland County has changed
Cumberland County's population had its largest rise in the last span, from 257,001 in 2019 to 275,516 in 2024.
Cumberland County's population nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 275,516, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 174,548. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Cumberland County rose by about a quarter to 137,858, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 130,712. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.8% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 4.2% | 2024 8.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $35,173 | 2024 $90,939 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.2% 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 Cumberland County's history
1730
Scots-Irish settlers arrived ~1730. Wikipedia
1879
Carlisle Indian Industrial School founded 1879. Wikipedia
1996
A flash flood in January 1996 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
A flash flood in September 1996 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
Lightning in October 2000 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flood in September 2011 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 259,469, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1972
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cumberland County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cumberland County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Cumberland County, four score higher. Of the group, Cumberland County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Perry County gets the largest, at 23.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dauphin County, PA | 57 | 13.0% | 22.4% |
| Franklin County, PA | 32 | 9.3% | 22.7% |
| York County, PA | 29 | 9.2% | 21.5% |
| Perry County, PA | 29 | 8.6% | 23.9% |
| Cumberland County, PA | 16 | 8.1% | 18.0% |
| Adams County, PA | 15 | 7.7% | 23.2% |
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 Cumberland County the poorest county in Pennsylvania?
No, Cumberland County's poverty rate was 8.1% in 2024, 61st 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, Cumberland County ranks 60th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cumberland 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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Cumberland County Housing and Redevelopment Authorities
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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.
Download the CSV for Cumberland 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 Cumberland County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.