Unemployment in Bath County, Virginia, is lower than in 91% of U.S. counties
In Bath County, 2.8% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 91% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Bath County's score
In Bath County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 39.7. Jobs are the lowest part, at 21.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Bath 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.
Bath County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 39.7 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.8% · August 20259th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202562nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.7% · second quarter of 202648th percentile
-
- 36.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.3% · 202433rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.1% · 202434th percentile
- People with a disability15.8% · 2020 to 202448th percentile
- People without health insurance2.5% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$63,429 · 202459th percentile
-
- 28.1 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 rent13.2% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.1% · fiscal year 202732nd percentile
-
- 25.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.7% · August 202529th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people74.1 · 202521st percentile
-
- 21.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20267th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.2% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
-
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 Bath 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 Bath County, 27.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Bath County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Bath County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 22.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Bath County, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Bath County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 6.0% in 2021 to 10.4% in 2022.
The share of households in Bath County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen to 10.3%
Low on the chart: 5.2% 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, Bath County, Virginia.
How Bath County has changed
Bath County's population had its largest rise, from 4,890 in 1974 to 5,626 in 1979.
Bath County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1979 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 5,626 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Bath County, Virginia.
The number of jobs located in Bath County fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 2,327 in 2015 to 1,783 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Bath County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 2,500 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Bath County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 12.1% | 2025 2.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.4% | 2024 11.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,479 | 2024 $63,429 |
The table uses 2.7% for 2025; the score uses 2.8% 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 Bath County's history
1790
Created December 14, 1790, from parts of Augusta, Botetourt, and Greenbrier counties. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 8,137. The 2020 Census counted 4,209, 52% of the peak. Census Bureau
1996
A flash flood in January 1996 did $6.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
Lightning in September 2019 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1969
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Bath County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Bath County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Bath County, in Virginia and West Virginia, four score higher. Of the group, Bath County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Pocahontas County gets the largest, at 43.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pocahontas County, WV | 67 | 17.4% | 43.6% |
| Greenbrier County, WV | 65 | 16.2% | 38.5% |
| Alleghany County, VA | 51 | 11.5% | — |
| Highland County, VA | 38 | 12.6% | 32.0% |
| Bath County, VA | 17 | 11.3% | 22.5% |
| Augusta County, VA | 16 | 7.3% | — |
| 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 Bath County the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Bath County's poverty rate was 11.3% in 2024, 76th 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, Bath County ranks 113th of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Bath 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.
-
Blue Ridge Legal Services
Legal aid
-
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 Bath County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.