Benefit checks make up 33 cents of every dollar of income in Amherst County, Virginia
In Amherst County, 33.2% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 77% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 61% of U.S. counties.
What drives Amherst County's score
In Amherst County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 73.7. Bankruptcy filings ran at 299.4 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 90% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 66.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Amherst 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.
Amherst County does better than most counties on two measures: children below the poverty line (13.8%, 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.6%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 73.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector24.9% · August 202556th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people299.4 · 202590th percentile
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- 66.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit 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 behind8.0% · August 202583rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.6% · second quarter of 202647th percentile
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- 54.3 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 rent20.6% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.1% · fiscal year 202743rd percentile
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- 49.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202634th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.9% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
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- 44.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.5% · 202444th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.8% · 202432nd percentile
- People with a disability16.2% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- People without health insurance6.8% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,607 · 202450th 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 Amherst 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 Amherst County, 21.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Amherst County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Amherst County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 33.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Amherst County, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 33.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Amherst County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 13.8% in 2014 to 11.5% in 2015.
The share of households in Amherst County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 7.5% 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, Amherst County, Virginia.
How Amherst County has changed
Amherst County's population had its largest rise, from 27,242 in 1974 to 28,927 in 1979.
Amherst County's population rose by about a fifth from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31,650
High on the chart: 32,447 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Amherst County, Virginia.
The number of jobs located in Amherst County fell most sharply after its 2005 high, from 9,835 in 2005 to 8,857 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Amherst County fell by about a fifth from 1990 to 2020, reaching 7,565, then turned up in 2025
High on the chart: 9,835 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Amherst County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.1% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.6% | 2024 12.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,062 | 2024 $66,607 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.6% 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 Amherst County's history
1730
English colonial families moved into area by 1730. Wikipedia
1761
Formed in 1761 from part of southwestern Albemarle County. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 32,353. The 2020 Census counted 31,307, 97% of the peak. Census Bureau
2018
A tornado in April 2018 did $4.3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
A thunderstorm in May 2021 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Amherst County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Amherst County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Amherst County, one scores higher. Of the group, Amherst County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (33.2%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lynchburg city, VA | 80 | 17.8% | — |
| Amherst County, VA | 61 | 12.5% | 33.2% |
| Campbell County, VA | 41 | 11.2% | — |
| Appomattox County, VA | 38 | 12.2% | 31.0% |
| Nelson County, VA | 35 | 11.5% | 28.0% |
| Bedford County, VA | 26 | 8.9% | 24.9% |
| Rockbridge County, VA | 12 | 9.9% | — |
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 Amherst County the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Amherst County's poverty rate was 12.5% in 2024, 59th 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, Amherst County ranks 55th of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Amherst 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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Virginia Legal Aid Society
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 Amherst 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 Amherst County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.