About one in six people with a credit file in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Somerset County, 16.9% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 74% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 67% of U.S. counties.
What drives Somerset County's score
In Somerset County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 49.0. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 26.3. People with a car or retail loan behind: 2.8%, August 2025, lower than in 87% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Somerset 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.
Somerset County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 49.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.4% · 202443rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.8% · 202448th percentile
- People with a disability16.3% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- People without health insurance6.6% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,644 · 202462nd percentile
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- 44.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202661st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.2% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
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- 40.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector16.9% · August 202526th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people138.5 · 202555th percentile
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- 39.3 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 rent16.9% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.4% · fiscal year 202735th percentile
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- 26.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.2% · August 202528th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.8% · August 202512th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score37.3% · second quarter of 202638th 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 Somerset 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 Somerset County, 23.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Somerset County
Pennsylvania
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Somerset County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 31.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Somerset County, Pennsylvania, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Somerset County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 10.7% in 2011 to 12.0% in 2012.
The share of households in Somerset County getting SNAP food aid rose by more than half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 14.3%
High on the chart: 14.8% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
How Somerset County has changed
Somerset County's population fell 5% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 1984 and 1989
High on the chart: 81,130 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
The number of jobs located in Somerset County had its largest rise, from 24,116 in 1990 to 25,751 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Somerset County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 13% since
High on the chart: 26,606 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.2% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.3% | 2024 12.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,159 | 2024 $62,644 |
The table uses 4.7% for 2025; the score uses 4.2% 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 Somerset County's history
1794
Whiskey Rebellion centered in Somerset County, 1794. Wikipedia
1795
Created April 17, 1795, from part of Bedford County. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 84,957. The 2020 Census counted 74,129, 87% of the peak. Census Bureau
1995
A thunderstorm in November 1995 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A tornado in May 1998 did $4 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A thunderstorm in August 2011 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
Lightning in July 2012 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Somerset County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Somerset County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Somerset County, in Pennsylvania and Maryland, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Somerset County ranks 4th of the seven; Allegany County is highest, at 38.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fayette County, PA | 86 | 14.7% | 33.7% |
| Allegany County, MD | 64 | 16.6% | 38.3% |
| Cambria County, PA | 51 | 14.5% | 35.3% |
| Bedford County, PA | 38 | 11.7% | 30.3% |
| Westmoreland County, PA | 33 | 10.5% | 24.6% |
| Somerset County, PA | 32 | 12.4% | 31.1% |
| Garrett County, MD | 26 | 12.3% | 27.5% |
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 Somerset County the poorest county in Pennsylvania?
No, Somerset County's poverty rate was 12.4% in 2024, 29th 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, Somerset County ranks 47th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Somerset 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 Somerset 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 Somerset County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.