About one in seven people in Erie County, Pennsylvania, lives below the poverty line
In Erie County, 14.7% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 62% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 54% of U.S. counties.
What drives Erie County's score
In Erie County, housing costs weigh most: the score for housing costs is 67.5. About one in four renters (25.1%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a higher share than in 86% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 55.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Erie 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.
Erie County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (4.2%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (100.9, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 67.5 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 rent25.1% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.5% · fiscal year 202748th percentile
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- 55.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202658th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.1% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
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- 49.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.7% · 202462nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.9% · 202464th percentile
- People with a disability16.2% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- People without health insurance4.2% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$63,912 · 202458th percentile
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- 48.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.5% · August 202551st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.9% · August 202545th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.5% · second quarter of 202647th percentile
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- 43.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.0% · August 202549th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people100.9 · 202536th 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 Erie 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 Erie County, 19.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Erie County
Pennsylvania
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Erie County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 27.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Erie County, Pennsylvania, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.8%; 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 Erie County getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled to 19.1%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2011, reaching 14.4%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Erie County, Pennsylvania.
How Erie County has changed
Erie County's population had its largest rise, from 262,384 in 1969 to 275,306 in 1974.
Erie County's population was about the same in 2024 as in 1969
High on the chart: 281,649 in 1994. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Erie County, Pennsylvania.
The number of jobs located in Erie County fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 124,658 in 2015 to 112,408 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Erie County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 131,758 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Erie County, Pennsylvania.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.9% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.9% | 2024 14.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,375 | 2024 $63,912 |
The table uses 4.5% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Erie County's history
1753
Fort Presque Isle constructed 1753 by French. Wikipedia
1985
A tornado in May 1985 did $25 million in property damage and killed 12 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 280,843. The 2020 Census counted 270,876, 96% of the peak. Census Bureau
2009
A flash flood in June 2009 did $6.25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A thunderstorm in June 2010 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A flash flood in November 2017 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
11 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Erie County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Erie County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Erie County, in Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York, three score higher. Of the group, Erie County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Warren County gets the largest, at 33.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashtabula County, OH | 75 | 15.2% | 33.1% |
| Chautauqua County, NY | 62 | 18.7% | 31.8% |
| Crawford County, PA | 57 | 16.8% | 32.1% |
| Erie County, PA | 54 | 14.7% | 27.8% |
| 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 Erie County the poorest county in Pennsylvania?
No, Erie County's poverty rate was 14.7% in 2024, 10th 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, Erie County ranks 15th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Erie 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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Greater Erie Community Action Agency
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Saint Martin Center, Inc
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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.
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 Erie County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.