About one in six people with a credit file in Snyder County, Pennsylvania, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Snyder County, 16.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 77% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 78% of U.S. counties.
What drives Snyder County's score
In Snyder County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 55.4. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 17.6. Bankruptcy filings ran at 55.4 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 88% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Snyder 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, Snyder County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (12.2%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 55.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.0% · 202440th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.4% · 202457th percentile
- People with a disability15.5% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- People without health insurance12.2% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,157 · 202454th percentile
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- 37.1 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 rent15.1% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.0% · fiscal year 202742nd percentile
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- 32.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202635th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.3% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
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- 23.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.0% · August 202541st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.9% · August 202512th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score30.8% · second quarter of 202615th percentile
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- 17.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector16.2% · August 202523rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people55.4 · 202511th 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 Snyder 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 Snyder County, 20.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Snyder County
Pennsylvania
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Snyder County had its largest rise, from 11.6% in 1969 to 18.3% in 1974.
In Snyder County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 29.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Snyder County, Pennsylvania, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Snyder County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 11.1% in 2017 to 9.8% in 2018.
The share of households in Snyder County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 10.0%
Low on the chart: 7.1% 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, Snyder County, Pennsylvania.
How Snyder County has changed
Snyder County's population had its largest rise, from 28,933 in 1969 to 31,858 in 1974.
Snyder County's population rose 37% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 39,993 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Snyder County, Pennsylvania.
The number of jobs located in Snyder County had its largest drop, from 17,017 in 2005 to 14,994 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Snyder County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 17,017 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Snyder County, Pennsylvania.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.9% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.6% | 2024 12.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,930 | 2024 $65,157 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 3.6% 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 Snyder County's history
1855
Formed March 2, 1855, from part of Union County. Wikipedia
1967
Middleburg Tannery destroyed by fire June 1967, never rebuilt. Wikipedia
1994
A tornado in June 1994 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
A flash flood in January 1996 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 39,736, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1972
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Snyder County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Snyder County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Snyder County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Snyder County ranks 3rd of the five; Northumberland County is highest, at 31.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northumberland County, PA | 48 | 14.2% | 31.6% |
| Mifflin County, PA | 34 | 12.5% | 29.8% |
| Juniata County, PA | 22 | 9.7% | 22.6% |
| Snyder County, PA | 21 | 12.0% | 29.1% |
| Union County, PA | 11 | 10.8% | 21.3% |
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 Snyder County the poorest county in Pennsylvania?
No, Snyder County's poverty rate was 12.0% in 2024, 32nd 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, Snyder County ranks 55th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Snyder 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 Snyder 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 Snyder County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.