About one in 10 people in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, lives below the poverty line
In Wyoming County, 9.7% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 80% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 66% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wyoming County's score
In Wyoming County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 58.8. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 25.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 61.8 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 84% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Wyoming 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.
Wyoming 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.
- 58.8 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202659th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.1% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
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- 49.4 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 rent15.9% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.9% · fiscal year 202762nd percentile
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- 41.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.7% · August 202536th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.2% · August 202550th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score37.2% · second quarter of 202637th percentile
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- 25.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.7% · 202419th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.6% · 202436th percentile
- People with a disability14.4% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- People without health insurance3.9% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$74,590 · 202429th percentile
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- 25.1 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 people61.8 · 202515th 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 Wyoming 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 Wyoming County, 22.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wyoming County
Pennsylvania
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Wyoming County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 25.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Wyoming County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 13.5% in 2021 to 15.1% in 2022.
The share of households in Wyoming County getting SNAP food aid doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 15.9%
High on the chart: 16.0% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania.
How Wyoming County has changed
Wyoming County's population rose most sharply from its first year (18,835 in 1969) to 23,309 in 1974.
Wyoming County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1994 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 28,813 in 1994. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Wyoming County rose 4% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
High on the chart: 10,018 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.8% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.8% | 2024 9.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,941 | 2024 $74,590 |
The table uses 4.5% 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 Wyoming County's history
1996
A flash flood in January 1996 did $20.1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A tornado in June 1998 did $2.2 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
A flash flood in June 2006 did $60 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 28,276. The 2020 Census counted 26,069, 92% of the peak. Census Bureau
2011
A flash flood in August 2011 did $23 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wyoming County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Wyoming County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Wyoming County, four score higher. Of the group, Wyoming County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Sullivan County gets the largest, at 32.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luzerne County, PA | 72 | 13.4% | 26.8% |
| Lackawanna County, PA | 63 | 14.9% | 26.2% |
| Susquehanna County, PA | 41 | 12.1% | 25.8% |
| Bradford County, PA | 36 | 11.6% | 28.5% |
| Wyoming County, PA | 33 | 9.7% | 25.6% |
| Sullivan County, PA | 22 | 12.8% | 32.7% |
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 Wyoming County the poorest county in Pennsylvania?
No, Wyoming County's poverty rate was 9.7% in 2024, 54th 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, Wyoming County ranks 45th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wyoming 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 Wyoming 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 Wyoming County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.