In Delaware County, Pennsylvania, benefit checks make up only 17 cents of every dollar of income
In Delaware County, 16.9% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 88% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 50% of U.S. counties.
What drives Delaware County's score
In Delaware County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 89.4. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 20.9. The typical household earns $90,113 a year (2024), more than in 89% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Delaware 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.
Even so, Delaware County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (29.4%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (24.8%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 89.4 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 rent29.4% · 2020 to 202496th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.8% · fiscal year 202782nd percentile
-
- 52.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.7% · August 202554th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.8% · August 202559th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score38.4% · second quarter of 202643rd percentile
-
- 43.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.6% · August 202551st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people98.3 · 202535th percentile
-
- 43.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202649th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.6% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
-
- 20.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.7% · 202428th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.9% · 202432nd percentile
- People with a disability12.5% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
- People without health insurance4.6% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$90,113 · 202410th 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 Delaware 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 Delaware County, 17.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Delaware County
Pennsylvania
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Delaware County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 16.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Delaware County, Pennsylvania, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 16.9%; 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 Delaware County getting SNAP food aid doubled to 13.3%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2011, reaching 7.9%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
How Delaware County has changed
Delaware County's population had its largest drop, from 583,989 in 1974 to 556,140 in 1979.
Delaware County's population was about the same in 2024 as in 1969
High on the chart: 595,377 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Delaware County rose 8% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2010 and 2015
High on the chart: 219,222 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.0% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 6.6% | 2024 10.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $35,907 | 2024 $90,113 |
The table uses 4.2% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Delaware County's history
1970
The county's largest recorded population was the 1970 Census count of 600,035. The 2020 Census counted 576,830, 96% of the peak. Census Bureau
1999
A flash flood in September 1999 did $15 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A thunderstorm in October 2003 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
A flash flood in September 2021 did $15 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
A flash flood in September 2021 did $15 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1965
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Delaware County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Delaware County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Delaware County, in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Delaware County ranks 4th of the six; Philadelphia County is highest, at 27.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia County, PA | 91 | 19.7% | 27.6% |
| New Castle County, DE | 58 | 10.3% | 19.5% |
| Delaware County, PA | 49 | 10.7% | 16.9% |
| Gloucester County, NJ | 42 | 7.1% | 18.9% |
| Montgomery County, PA | 9 | 6.2% | 12.5% |
| Chester County, PA | 3 | 6.4% | 10.4% |
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 Delaware County the poorest county in Pennsylvania?
No, Delaware County's poverty rate was 10.7% in 2024, 45th 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, Delaware County ranks 23rd of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Delaware 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.
-
Affordable Housing Centers of Pennsylvania - Delaware County
HUD-approved housing counselor
-
CCCS of Delaware Valley, Inc. Dba Clarifi
HUD-approved housing counselor
-
Media Fellowship House
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 Delaware 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 Delaware County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.