Jefferson County, Pennsylvania

County Distress Index: Elevated · 55.1 | 43,612 people · 8th most distressed in Pennsylvania

Behind on your mortgage or facing eviction? Take a 2-minute assessment to see your options.

Jefferson County, PA registers elevated household financial distress with a score of 55.1 — 1202nd nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Income & Poverty, where poverty rates are high and household incomes lag well behind state and national medians. Within Pennsylvania, it ranks 8th of 67 counties. It scores higher than all 6 of its neighboring counties.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Jefferson County's primary driver is Income & Poverty at 83.1 — worse than roughly 83% of U.S. counties.

Income & Poverty Primary driver 83.1
Poverty Rate 81
Income vs. State Median 93
Child Poverty Rate 75
Employment & Wages 63.7
Unemployment Rate 61
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 38
Business Formation Rate 93
Housing Cost Burden 51.5
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 58
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 56
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 21
Homeownership Rate 51
Rent-to-Income Ratio 71
Community Vulnerability 49.0
Uninsured Rate 54
Disability Rate 44
Debt & Delinquency 28.3
Debt in Collections 29
Medical Debt 30
Student Loan Delinquency 3
Auto Loan Delinquency 61
Credit Card Delinquency 24
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 23

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

Neighbors and Peers

How Jefferson County compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Jefferson County
Jefferson County, PA 55.1 Elevated
Forest County, PA 54.5 Elevated -0.6
Indiana County, PA 53.6 Elevated -1.6
Clearfield County, PA 50.0 Normal -5.1
Clarion County, PA 49.0 Normal -6.2
Armstrong County, PA 43.1 Normal -12.0
Elk County, PA 33.3 Healthy -21.9

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Jefferson County
Muhlenberg County, KY 55.1 Elevated +0.0
George County, MS 55.1 Elevated +0.0
Swain County, NC 55.1 Elevated +0.0
Coles County, IL 55.1 Elevated +0.0
Lawrence County, IL 55.1 Elevated +0.0

Download Data

Export all distress indicators for Jefferson County as a CSV file.

Find Help in Jefferson County

Find an Attorney

Pennsylvania Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service offers a lawyer referral service for bankruptcy, foreclosure defense, and consumer rights.

Free Legal Aid

Legal aid organizations serving Jefferson County residents at no cost.

American Default Research does not endorse, rate, or rank any provider. Verify attorney credentials with your state bar.