Benefit checks make up 39 cents of every dollar of income in Van Buren County, Tennessee
In Van Buren County, 39.2% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 91% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 58% of U.S. counties.
What drives Van Buren County's score
In Van Buren County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 79.1. About one in seven people (15.1%, 2020 to 2024) has no health insurance, a higher share than in 89% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 70.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Van Buren 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.
Van Buren County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (0.6%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.4%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 79.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.9% · 202464th percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.8% · 202475th percentile
- People with a disability20.7% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- People without health insurance15.1% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,580 · 202483rd percentile
-
- 70.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.1% · August 202585th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.9% · August 202571st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score41.3% · second quarter of 202654th percentile
-
- 54.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.3% · August 202546th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people154 · 202561st percentile
-
- 42.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202627th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.8% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
-
- 33.4 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 rent0.6% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.9% · fiscal year 202761st percentile
-
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 Van Buren 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 Van Buren County, 24.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Van Buren County
Tennessee
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Van Buren County had its largest rise, from 30.2% in 2004 to 44.7% in 2009.
In Van Buren County, benefit checks brought in more than pay in one of the bars shown, but pay leads in 2024
In Van Buren County, Tennessee, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 39.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Van Buren County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 18.3% in 2018 to 13.7% in 2019.
The share of households in Van Buren County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2011 and has since fallen to 18.6%
Low on the chart: 13.7% in 2016. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Van Buren County, Tennessee.
How Van Buren County has changed
Van Buren County's population nearly doubled to 6,686, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 6,686. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Van Buren County, Tennessee.
The number of jobs located in Van Buren County had its largest drop, from 912 in 2005 to 711 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Van Buren County fell 13% from 1990 to 2025, with its low point on the chart in 2010
Low on the chart: 711 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Van Buren County, Tennessee.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.1% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.7% | 2024 14.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,877 | 2024 $54,580 |
The table uses 3.6% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% 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 Van Buren County's history
1939
Burritt College closed in 1939. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 6,168, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2021
A flash flood in October 2021 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1973
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Van Buren County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Van Buren County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Van Buren County, four score higher. Of the group, Van Buren County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (39.2%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sequatchie County, TN | 92 | 15.4% | 31.2% |
| White County, TN | 71 | 11.6% | 36.9% |
| Warren County, TN | 69 | 15.2% | 32.5% |
| Bledsoe County, TN | 62 | 19.4% | 32.4% |
| Van Buren County, TN | 58 | 14.9% | 39.2% |
| Cumberland County, TN | 54 | 13.2% | 37.5% |
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 Van Buren County the poorest county in Tennessee?
No, Van Buren County's poverty rate was 14.9% in 2024, 41st highest of 95 in Tennessee (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Lake County, at 31.2%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Van Buren County ranks 64th of 95 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Van Buren 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.
-
Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands
Legal aid
-
Tennessee Justice Center
Legal aid
-
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 Van Buren 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 Van Buren County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.