Amherst County, Virginia

County Distress Index: Elevated · 52.6 | 31,396 people · 56th most distressed in Virginia

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Amherst County, VA registers elevated household financial distress with a score of 52.6 — 1406th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Debt & Delinquency, where debt and delinquency levels sit above the national average. Within Virginia, it ranks 56th of 133 counties. Among its 6 neighboring counties, 5 show less distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Amherst County's primary driver is Debt & Delinquency at 64.5 — above the national median.

Debt & Delinquency Primary driver 64.5
Debt in Collections 56
Medical Debt 15
Student Loan Delinquency 74
Auto Loan Delinquency 83
Credit Card Delinquency 67
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 91
Employment & Wages 61.7
Unemployment Rate 38
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 80
Business Formation Rate 67
Income & Poverty 48.7
Poverty Rate 41
Income vs. State Median 64
Child Poverty Rate 41
Housing Cost Burden 46.3
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 60
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 68
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 8
Homeownership Rate 27
Rent-to-Income Ratio 68
Community Vulnerability 41.8
Uninsured Rate 32
Disability Rate 51

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

Neighbors and Peers

How Amherst County compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Amherst County
Amherst County, VA 52.6 Elevated
Lynchburg city, VA 57.9 Elevated +5.3
Appomattox County, VA 44.7 Normal -7.9
Campbell County, VA 40.8 Normal -11.8
Nelson County, VA 40.7 Normal -11.9
Rockbridge County, VA 40.1 Normal -12.5
Bedford County, VA 34.6 Healthy -18.0

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Amherst County
Sullivan County, IN 52.7 Elevated +0.1
Smith County, MS 52.5 Elevated -0.1
Elmore County, ID 52.7 Elevated +0.1
Fayette County, IL 52.7 Elevated +0.1
Cheboygan County, MI 52.5 Elevated -0.1

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