About one in six people with a credit file in Essex County, Vermont, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Essex County, 18.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 69% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 63% of U.S. counties.
What drives Essex County's score
In Essex County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 61.0. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 18.0. People with a car or retail loan behind: 2.8%, August 2025, lower than in 88% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Essex 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.
Even so, Essex County is worse off than most counties on people with a disability (22.2%, 2020 to 2024) and adults 25 to 54 not working (27.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 61.0 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 202638th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.5% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
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- 58.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.8% · 202455th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.3% · 202450th percentile
- People with a disability22.2% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
- People without health insurance4.9% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,992 · 202478th percentile
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- 54.8 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 rent14.3% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.6% · fiscal year 202781st percentile
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- 18.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector18.1% · August 202531st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people33.3 · 20255th or lower percentile
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- 18.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.1% · August 202511th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.8% · August 202511th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.2% · second quarter of 202630th 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 Essex 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 Essex County, 27.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Essex County
Vermont
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Essex 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 Essex County, Vermont, 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
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Essex County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 18.8%, with most of the change between 2020 and 2021
High on the chart: 18.9% in 2014. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Essex County, Vermont.
How Essex County has changed
Essex County's population rose 10% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1969 and 1974
High on the chart: 6,478 in 2004. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Essex County, Vermont.
The number of jobs located in Essex County had its largest drop, from 1,596 in 2005 to 1,146 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Essex County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 41% since
High on the chart: 1,798 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Essex County, Vermont.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.1% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.1% | 2024 13.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,813 | 2024 $56,992 |
The table uses 3.6% 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 Essex County's history
1792
Created November 5, 1792, from Chittenden and Orange Counties. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 8,056. The 2020 Census counted 5,920, 73% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
30 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Essex County, 20 of them for flooding. FEMA
Essex County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Essex County, in Vermont and New Hampshire, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Essex County ranks 3rd of the five; Coos County is highest, at 34.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coos County, NH | 47 | 13.8% | 34.0% |
| Essex County, VT | 36 | 13.8% | 31.1% |
| Orleans County, VT | 33 | 11.9% | 31.4% |
| Caledonia County, VT | 20 | 11.0% | 27.3% |
| Grafton County, NH | 9 | 9.6% | 16.7% |
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 Essex County the poorest county in Vermont?
Yes, Essex County's poverty rate was 13.8% in 2024, the highest of 14 counties in Vermont (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Essex County ranks 1st of 14 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Essex 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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Vermont Legal Aid
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 Essex County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.