Benefit checks make up 40 cents of every dollar of income in Brunswick County, Virginia
In Brunswick County, 39.9% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 93% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 78% of U.S. counties.
What drives Brunswick County's score
In Brunswick County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 85.7. Late payments on loans come next, at 83.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Brunswick 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.
Brunswick County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (5.5%, 2020 to 2024) and adults 25 to 54 not working (18.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 85.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.4% · August 202577th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people336.5 · 202593rd percentile
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- 83.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.3% · August 202576th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.6% · August 202587th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score53.1% · second quarter of 202686th percentile
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- 65.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.2% · 202487th percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.8% · 202478th percentile
- People with a disability15.7% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- People without health insurance5.5% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$53,438 · 202485th percentile
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- 55.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202673rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.5% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
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- 46.1 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 rent16.0% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.2% · fiscal year 202755th 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 Brunswick 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 Brunswick County, 22.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Brunswick County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Brunswick County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about five times its 1969 level, but pay from work still brings in 18% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Brunswick County, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 39.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Brunswick County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 23.2% in 2011 to 26.8% in 2012.
The share of households in Brunswick County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 19.7% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Brunswick County, Virginia.
How Brunswick County has changed
Brunswick County's population had its largest rise, from 16,330 in 1994 to 18,290 in 1999.
Brunswick County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 14% since
High on the chart: 18,290 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Brunswick County, Virginia.
The number of jobs located in Brunswick County fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 3,960 in 2015 to 3,274 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Brunswick County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 4,971 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Brunswick County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.5% | 2025 4.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.5% | 2024 20.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,951 | 2024 $53,438 |
The table uses 4.9% for 2025; the score uses 4.6% 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 Brunswick County's history
1714
First English settlers arrived during Fort Christanna operation 1714-1718. Wikipedia
1720
Established in 1720 from Prince George County. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 21,025. The 2020 Census counted 15,849, 75% of the peak. Census Bureau
1986
A tornado in October 1986 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Brunswick County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Brunswick County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Brunswick County, in Virginia and North Carolina, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Brunswick County ranks 3rd of the six; Northampton County is highest, at 40.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northampton County, NC | 95 | 22.5% | 40.9% |
| Greensville County, VA | 90 | 26.2% | — |
| Warren County, NC | 85 | 20.1% | 39.0% |
| Nottoway County, VA | 81 | 19.0% | 39.9% |
| Brunswick County, VA | 78 | 20.2% | 39.9% |
| Lunenburg County, VA | 74 | 19.9% | 35.7% |
| Dinwiddie County, VA | 73 | 10.1% | — |
| Mecklenburg County, VA | 61 | 14.5% | 37.2% |
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 Brunswick County the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Brunswick County's poverty rate was 20.2% in 2024, 14th 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, Brunswick County ranks 31st of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Brunswick 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 Brunswick 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 Brunswick County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.