In Chesapeake city, Virginia, benefit checks make up only 20 cents of every dollar of income
In Chesapeake city, 19.6% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 80% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 51% of U.S. counties.
What drives Chesapeake city's score
In Chesapeake city, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 79.3. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 22.3. The typical household earns $90,226 a year (2024), more than in 89% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Chesapeake 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.
Even so, Chesapeake city is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (28.3%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (248.9, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 79.3 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent28.3% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.2% · fiscal year 202764th percentile
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- 65.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.1% · August 202546th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people248.9 · 202585th percentile
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- 46.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.6% · August 202552nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.9% · August 202546th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score37.7% · second quarter of 202640th percentile
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- 31.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202635th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.0% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
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- 22.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.5% · 202426th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.0% · 202422nd percentile
- People with a disability13.0% · 2020 to 202422nd percentile
- People without health insurance5.8% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$90,226 · 202410th 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 Chesapeake city 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 Chesapeake city, 14.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Chesapeake city
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Chesapeake city, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 19.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Chesapeake city, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 19.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Chesapeake city getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 6.7% in 2011 to 7.8% in 2012.
The share of households in Chesapeake city getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 7.2%
Low on the chart: 5.3% 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, Chesapeake city, Virginia.
How Chesapeake city has changed
Chesapeake city's population had its largest rise, from 147,455 in 1989 to 178,560 in 1994.
Chesapeake city's population tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 254,997, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 254,997. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Chesapeake city, Virginia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Chesapeake city more than doubled to 107,476, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 64,701. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Chesapeake city, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.2% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.6% | 2024 10.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $34,277 | 2024 $90,226 |
The table uses 3.3% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Chesapeake city's history
1963
1963 (1919 as South Norfolk, 1634 as Norfolk County, Virginia ). Wikipedia
1993
A tornado in August 1993 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flood in October 2016 did $20 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A tornado in March 2017 did $3.9 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
Lightning in July 2017 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 249,422, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1972
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Chesapeake city, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Chesapeake city beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Chesapeake city, in Virginia and North Carolina, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Chesapeake city ranks 6th of the seven; Portsmouth city is highest, at 31.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth city, VA | 96 | 15.2% | 31.9% |
| Norfolk city, VA | 88 | 15.3% | 27.1% |
| Suffolk city, VA | 55 | 8.3% | 21.9% |
| Chesapeake city, VA | 48 | 10.5% | 19.6% |
| Virginia Beach city, VA | 41 | 7.9% | 17.0% |
| Currituck County, NC | 9 | 8.1% | 20.7% |
| Camden County, NC | 3 | 7.5% | 23.0% |
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 Chesapeake city the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Chesapeake city's poverty rate was 10.5% in 2024, 81st 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, Chesapeake city ranks 69th of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Chesapeake 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.
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Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia
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 Chesapeake city · 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 Chesapeake city comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.