In Union County, Pennsylvania, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Union County, 16.5% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 89% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 88% of U.S. counties.
What drives Union County's score
In Union County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 47.6. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 11.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 40.4 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Union 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.
Union 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.
- 47.6 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202641st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.3% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
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- 33.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.8% · 202429th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.4% · 202419th percentile
- People with a disability12.5% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
- People without health insurance10.4% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$74,727 · 202429th percentile
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- 25.1 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 rent16.5% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.5% · fiscal year 202710th percentile
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- 11.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.4% · August 202515th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.4% · August 20252nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score30.9% · second quarter of 202615th percentile
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- 11.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.4% · August 202516th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people40.4 · 20256th 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 Union 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 Union County, 19.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Union County
Pennsylvania
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Union County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 21.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Union County, Pennsylvania, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.3%; 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 Union County getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled to 11.8%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2011 to 2012, reaching 9.4%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Union County, Pennsylvania.
How Union County has changed
Union County's population had its largest rise, from 36,034 in 1989 to 40,938 in 1994.
Union County's population rose by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 42,159
High on the chart: 44,795 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Union County, Pennsylvania.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Union County rose 14% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
High on the chart: 17,446 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Union County, Pennsylvania.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.0% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.7% | 2024 10.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $29,756 | 2024 $74,727 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Union County's history
1813
Created March 22, 1813, from part of Northumberland County. Wikipedia
1985
A tornado in May 1985 did $25 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1995
A thunderstorm in November 1995 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
A thunderstorm in June 1996 did $15 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
A flash flood in September 1999 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 44,947. The 2020 Census counted 42,681, 95% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1972
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Union County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Union County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Union County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Union County ranks 6th of the seven; Northumberland County is highest, at 31.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lycoming County, PA | 52 | 15.1% | 27.6% |
| Northumberland County, PA | 48 | 14.2% | 31.6% |
| Clinton County, PA | 43 | 14.8% | 29.6% |
| Mifflin County, PA | 34 | 12.5% | 29.8% |
| Snyder County, PA | 21 | 12.0% | 29.1% |
| Centre County, PA | 18 | 14.3% | 17.5% |
| 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 Union County the poorest county in Pennsylvania?
No, Union County's poverty rate was 10.8% in 2024, 43rd 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, Union County ranks 64th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Union 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.
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 Union County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.