About one in five people with a credit file in Potter County, Pennsylvania, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Potter County, 19.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 66% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 56% of U.S. counties.
What drives Potter County's score
In Potter County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 65.9. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 19.9. Bankruptcy filings ran at 31.3 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Potter 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, Potter County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.4%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and median household income ($56,229, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 65.9 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202688th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.6% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
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- 61.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.9% · 202455th percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.9% · 202464th percentile
- People with a disability18.1% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- People without health insurance6.6% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,229 · 202480th percentile
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- 43.0 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 behind4.0% · August 202532nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score38.8% · second quarter of 202644th percentile
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- 39.1 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 rent11.9% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.6% · fiscal year 202759th percentile
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- 19.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector19.0% · August 202534th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people31.3 · 20255th or lower 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 Potter 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 Potter County, 25.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Potter County
Pennsylvania
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Potter County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 32.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Potter County, Pennsylvania, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Potter County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 14.1% in 2018 to 16.1% in 2019.
The share of households in Potter County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen to 14.0%
Low on the chart: 10.6% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Potter County, Pennsylvania.
How Potter County has changed
Potter County's population had its largest drop, from 17,625 in 1984 to 16,794 in 1989.
Potter County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2004 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 18,067 in 2004. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Potter County, Pennsylvania.
The number of jobs located in Potter County had its largest rise, from 5,518 in 1995 to 7,626 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Potter County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 38% since
High on the chart: 7,626 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Potter County, Pennsylvania.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.4% | 2025 5.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.2% | 2024 13.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,598 | 2024 $56,229 |
The table uses 5.5% for 2025; the score uses 5.4% 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 Potter County's history
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 30,621. The 2020 Census counted 16,396, 54% of the peak. Census Bureau
2012
A thunderstorm in July 2012 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Potter County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Potter County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Potter County, in Pennsylvania and New York, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Potter County ranks 2nd of the eight; Cameron County is highest, at 36.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| McKean County, PA | 57 | 14.3% | 30.8% |
| Allegany County, NY | 53 | 16.4% | 31.9% |
| Lycoming County, PA | 52 | 15.1% | 27.6% |
| Cameron County, PA | 50 | 12.7% | 36.6% |
| Clinton County, PA | 43 | 14.8% | 29.6% |
| Potter County, PA | 43 | 13.9% | 32.8% |
| Steuben County, NY | 42 | 14.5% | 26.6% |
| Tioga County, PA | 35 | 11.4% | 31.0% |
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 Potter County the poorest county in Pennsylvania?
No, Potter County's poverty rate was 13.9% in 2024, 17th 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, Potter County ranks 31st of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Potter 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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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 Potter 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 Potter County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.