About one in six people with a credit file in Craig County, Virginia, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Craig County, 17.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 74% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 65% of U.S. counties.
What drives Craig County's score
In Craig County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 69.8. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 16.5. People with a credit card behind: 1.9%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Craig 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, Craig County is worse off than most counties on adults 25 to 54 not working (29.6%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (24.4%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 69.8 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202650th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working29.6% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
-
- 66.0 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 rent18.4% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.4% · fiscal year 202780th percentile
-
- 26.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.0% · August 202526th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people82.6 · 202526th percentile
-
- 26.6 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 line14.7% · 202437th percentile
- People with a disability13.7% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
- People without health insurance3.1% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,014 · 202435th percentile
-
- 16.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind1.9% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.9% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score37.6% · second quarter of 202639th 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 Craig 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 Craig County, 18.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Craig County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Craig County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 30.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Craig County, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Craig County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 11.2% in 2015 to 17.2% in 2016.
The share of households in Craig County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 9.7%
Low on the chart: 3.9% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Craig County, Virginia.
How Craig County has changed
Craig County's population had its largest rise, from 4,680 in 1994 to 5,065 in 1999.
Craig County's population rose 38% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 5,142 in 2004. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Craig County, Virginia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Craig County rose by about half to 764, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2005 to 2010, reaching 670. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Craig County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.1% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.5% | 2024 10.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,934 | 2024 $72,014 |
The table uses 3.6% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Craig County's history
1851
Formed in 1851 from parts of Botetourt, Roanoke, Giles, and Monroe counties. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 5,190. The 2020 Census counted 4,892, 94% of the peak. Census Bureau
-
Since 1972
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Craig County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Craig County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Craig County, in Virginia and West Virginia, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Craig County ranks 3rd of the four; Monroe County is highest, at 36.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe County, WV | 59 | 13.9% | 36.0% |
| Alleghany County, VA | 51 | 11.5% | — |
| Giles County, VA | 44 | 11.5% | 30.7% |
| Montgomery County, VA | 34 | 20.6% | — |
| Craig County, VA | 34 | 10.5% | 30.0% |
| Roanoke County, VA | 16 | 7.1% | — |
| Botetourt County, VA | 5 | 5.2% | 21.9% |
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 Craig County the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Craig County'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, Craig County ranks 93rd of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Craig 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 Craig County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.