About one in eight people in Caroline County, Virginia, has a disability
In Caroline County, 12.0% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 85% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 53% of U.S. counties.
What drives Caroline County's score
In Caroline County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 79.0. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 27.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Caroline 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.
Even so, Caroline County is worse off than most counties on bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (358.5, 2025) and people with a car or retail loan behind (7.9%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 79.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.0% · August 202563rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people358.5 · 202594th percentile
-
- 68.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.7% · August 202568th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.9% · August 202582nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score41.2% · second quarter of 202653rd percentile
-
- 37.5 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 rent16.4% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.4% · fiscal year 202735th percentile
-
- 28.8 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 202632nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.6% · 2020 to 202424th percentile
-
- 27.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.4% · 202425th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.6% · 202431st percentile
- People with a disability12.0% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- People without health insurance6.9% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$77,152 · 202425th 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 Caroline 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 Caroline County, 16.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Caroline County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Caroline County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 22.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Caroline County, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Caroline County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply after its 2010 low, from 8.3% in 2010 to 11.0% in 2011.
The share of households in Caroline County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 13.4%
Low on the chart: 8.3% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Caroline County, Virginia.
How Caroline County has changed
Caroline County's population more than doubled to 33,477, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2004 to 2009, reaching 28,263. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Caroline County, Virginia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Caroline County nearly doubled to 7,022, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 7,022. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Caroline County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.4% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.1% | 2024 10.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,870 | 2024 $77,152 |
The table uses 3.4% 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 Caroline County's history
1727
Established in 1727 from parts of Essex, King and Queen, and King William counties. Wikipedia
1941
A.P. Hill Military Reservation established 1941, later renamed Fort Walker. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 30,887, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
-
Since 1969
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Caroline County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Caroline County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Caroline County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Caroline County ranks 3rd of the seven; Essex County is highest, at 32.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essex County, VA | 84 | 11.7% | 32.6% |
| King and Queen County, VA | 59 | 12.5% | 25.9% |
| Caroline County, VA | 46 | 10.4% | 22.7% |
| Spotsylvania County, VA | 46 | 7.0% | — |
| King William County, VA | 40 | 6.6% | 20.2% |
| Stafford County, VA | 26 | 5.4% | 15.6% |
| King George County, VA | 18 | 6.6% | 16.1% |
| Hanover County, VA | 7 | 6.1% | 15.2% |
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 Caroline County the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Caroline County's poverty rate was 10.4% in 2024, 83rd 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, Caroline County ranks 71st of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Caroline 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.
-
Legal Services of Northern Virginia
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.
Download the CSV for Caroline 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 Caroline County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.