About one in five people in Buena Vista city, Virginia, has a disability

In Buena Vista city, 20.9% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 84% of U.S. counties.

Photo of Ross Kilburn
Data from
County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026
42nd
of 133 counties in Virginia
69score /100

More distressed than 69% of U.S. counties.

What drives Buena Vista city's score

In Buena Vista city, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 70.1. People with a credit card behind: 9.2%, August 2025, higher than in 91% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 65.5.

The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Buena Vista city: 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.

Buena Vista city does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (4.3%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a car or retail loan behind (4.4%, August 2025).

A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.

  • Late payments

    Biggest factor
    70.1 of 100

    Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026

    • People with a credit card behind
      9.2% · August 2025
      91st percentile
    • People with a car or retail loan behind
      4.4% · August 2025
      37th percentile
    • People with a subprime credit score
      50.4% · second quarter of 2026
      80th percentile

  • Collections and bankruptcy

    65.6 of 100

    Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025

    • People with unpaid debt sent to a collector
      27.4% · August 2025
      65th percentile
    • Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people
      167.5 · 2025
      65th percentile

  • Income and safety net

    60.5 of 100

    Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey

    • People below the poverty line
      15.6% · 2024
      68th percentile
    • Children below the poverty line
      19.1% · 2024
      60th percentile
    • People with a disability
      20.9% · 2020 to 2024
      84th percentile
    • People without health insurance
      4.3% · 2020 to 2024
      11th percentile
    • Median household income (lower income, longer bar)
      $57,177 · 2024
      77th percentile

  • Housing costs

    60.3 of 100

    Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027

    • Renters paying half their income or more in rent
      19.2% · 2020 to 2024
      56th percentile
    • Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income
      22.2% · fiscal year 2027
      64th percentile

  • Jobs

    50.3 of 100

    Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey

    • Unemployment rate, average over the latest year
      3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026
      40th percentile
    • Adults 25 to 54 not working
      22.4% · 2020 to 2024
      60th 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.

How Buena Vista city has changed

The number of jobs located in Buena Vista city had its largest drop, from 2,817 in 2005 to 2,122 in 2010.

The number of jobs located in Buena Vista city was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and has since fallen by about a fifth

High on the chart: 2,817 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Buena Vista city, Virginia.

01,5003,000 2,1832,302 19901995200020052010201520202025 01,5003,000 2,1832,302 19901995200020052010201520202025
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/virginia/buena-vista-city-va/
Download data (CSV)
MeasureThenNowSource
Unemployment rateBLS LAUS 1990 9.0% 2025 3.5% BLS LAUS
People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE 1989 12.5% 2024 15.6% Census SAIPE
Median household incomeCensus SAIPE 1993 $25,740 2024 $57,177 Census SAIPE

The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.8% 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 Buena Vista city's history

  1. 1980

    The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 6,717. The 2020 Census counted 6,641, 99% of the peak. Census Bureau

  2. Since 1972

    20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Buena Vista city, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA

Buena Vista city beside its neighbors

Buena Vista city scores higher than all one counties that border it.

CountyDistress scoreScoreRank in its state Poverty rateBenefit checks, share of incomeBenefit checks
Buena Vista city, VA 69 42nd of 133 15.6% —
Rockbridge County, VA 12 120th of 133 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: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.

Is Buena Vista city the poorest county in Virginia?

No, Buena Vista city's poverty rate was 15.6% in 2024, 41st 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, Buena Vista city ranks 42nd of 133 in the state.

If you're behind on your mortgage in Buena Vista city

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.

Virginia foreclosure guide →

The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.

Download the CSV for Buena Vista city · Every U.S. county (CSV)

Cite this Buena Vista city, Virginia, scores 69 on the County Distress Index (data through Sep 2026): more distressed than 69% of U.S. counties · American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/virginia/buena-vista-city-va/

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.
  • History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.