Essex County, Vermont

County Distress Index: Normal · 49.0 | 6,010 people · 2nd most distressed in Vermont
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Essex County, VT falls within the normal range for household financial distress at 49.0 — 1669th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Income & Poverty, where poverty rates are high and household incomes lag well behind state and national medians. Within Vermont, it ranks 2nd of 14 counties. Its score is in the middle of its 4 neighboring counties.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Essex County's primary driver is Income & Poverty at 68.5 — above the national median.

Income & Poverty Primary driver 68.5
Poverty Rate 57
Income vs. State Median 92
Child Poverty Rate 57
Community Vulnerability 60.2
Uninsured Rate 27
Disability Rate 93
Employment & Wages 55.8
Unemployment Rate 52
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 45
Business Formation Rate 71
Housing Cost Burden 45.3
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 55
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 42
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 76
Homeownership Rate 7
Rent-to-Income Ratio 47
Debt & Delinquency 15.4
Debt in Collections 31
Medical Debt 7
Student Loan Delinquency 25
Auto Loan Delinquency 12
Credit Card Delinquency 12
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 5

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Essex County compares to its 4 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Essex County
Essex County, VT 49.0 Normal —
Coos County, NH 57.5 Elevated +8.4
Orleans County, VT 50.4 Elevated +1.4
Caledonia County, VT 43.5 Normal -5.5
Grafton County, NH 39.2 Normal -9.8

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Essex County
Coke County, TX 48.9 Normal -0.1
Fisher County, TX 48.9 Normal -0.1
Aleutians East Borough, AK 49.3 Normal +0.2
McLean County, KY 48.8 Normal -0.2
Dade County, MO 49.3 Normal +0.3

Download Data

Export all distress indicators for Essex County as a CSV file.

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Legal aid organizations serving Essex County residents at no cost.

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the distress score for Essex County, Vermont?

    Essex County has a County Distress Index score of 49.0 out of 100, placing it in the Normal zone. It ranks 1,669th nationally out of 3,144 counties and 2nd in Vermont out of 14 counties.

  • What drives financial distress in Essex County?

    The primary driver of distress in Essex County is Income & Poverty, where the county scores 68.5 out of 100. This domain is measured by indicators including Poverty Rate, Income vs. State Median, Child Poverty Rate.

  • How does Essex County compare to neighboring counties?

    Essex County (49.0) can be compared to its 4 neighboring counties: Coos County, NH (57.5); Orleans County, VT (50.4); Caledonia County, VT (43.5).

  • How is the County Distress Index calculated?

    The County Distress Index uses percentile-rank averaging across five domains: Debt & Delinquency, Income & Poverty, Housing Cost Burden, Employment & Wages, and Community Vulnerability. Each county's indicators are ranked against all 3,144 U.S. counties. A score of 50 means the county is at the national median; higher scores indicate greater distress.

  • What is the population of Essex County?

    Essex County, Vermont has a population of approximately 6,010 (2023 Census estimate), classified as a tiny county.