Unemployment in Accomack County, Virginia, is higher than in 76% of U.S. counties
In Accomack County, 4.8% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is higher than in 76% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 63% of U.S. counties.
What drives Accomack County's score
In Accomack County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 69.1. People with a car or retail loan behind: 6.9%, August 2025, higher than in 71% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 64.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Accomack 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.
Accomack County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (102.3, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (16.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 69.1 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.6% · August 202567th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.9% · August 202571st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.5% · second quarter of 202668th percentile
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- 64.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.1% · 202449th percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.3% · 202473rd percentile
- People with a disability17.1% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- People without health insurance11.0% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,675 · 202468th percentile
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- 62.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202674th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.7% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
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- 52.0 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 rent16.7% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.0% · fiscal year 202762nd percentile
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- 45.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.9% · August 202552nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people102.3 · 202537th 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 Accomack 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 Accomack County, 25.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Accomack County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Accomack County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 31.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Accomack County, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Accomack County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 12.6% in 2019 to 10.6% in 2020.
The share of households in Accomack County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 9.9% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Accomack County, Virginia.
How Accomack County has changed
Accomack County's population had its largest rise, from 34,568 in 1994 to 37,614 in 1999.
Accomack County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 37,614 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Accomack County, Virginia.
The number of jobs located in Accomack County had its largest rise in the last span, from 12,144 in 2020 to 12,942 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Accomack County was about the same in 2025 as in 1990
High on the chart: 13,706 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Accomack County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.5% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 23.4% | 2024 13.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,041 | 2024 $60,675 |
The table uses 4.3% for 2025; the score uses 4.8% 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 Accomack County's history
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 38,305. The 2020 Census counted 33,413, 87% of the peak. Census Bureau
2016
A flood in July 2016 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Accomack County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Accomack County beside its neighbors
Of the three counties that border Accomack County, in Virginia and Maryland, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Accomack County ranks 2nd of the four; Somerset County is highest, at 39.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset County, MD | 90 | 20.3% | 39.8% |
| Accomack County, VA | 63 | 13.1% | 31.8% |
| Northampton County, VA | 53 | 16.8% | 31.6% |
| Worcester County, MD | 39 | 10.6% | 24.6% |
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 Accomack County the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Accomack County's poverty rate was 13.1% in 2024, 53rd highest of 133 in Virginia (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Radford city, at 27.2%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Accomack County ranks 52nd of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Accomack 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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Accomack-northampton Planning District Commisssion
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia
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 Accomack 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 Accomack County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.