About three in ten people with a credit file in Cumberland County, Virginia, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Cumberland County, 27.9% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 67% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 62% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cumberland County's score
In Cumberland County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 79.5. Bankruptcy filings ran at 303.7 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 91% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 78.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cumberland 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.
Cumberland County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (4.0%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.3%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 79.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.9% · August 202567th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people303.7 · 202591st percentile
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- 78.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.2% · August 202576th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.3% · August 202589th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.6% · second quarter of 202668th percentile
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- 46.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.7% · 202446th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.4% · 202457th percentile
- People with a disability16.7% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- People without health insurance4.0% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,104 · 202463rd percentile
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- 43.5 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 rent16.8% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.2% · fiscal year 202744th percentile
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- 42.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202622nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.7% · 2020 to 202461st 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 Cumberland 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 Cumberland County, 23.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cumberland County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Cumberland County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 29.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Cumberland County, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Cumberland County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 18.7% in 2013 to 22.5% in 2014.
The share of households in Cumberland County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 21.2%
Low on the chart: 14.8% 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, Cumberland County, Virginia.
How Cumberland County has changed
Cumberland County's population nearly doubled to 10,062, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 7,126. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cumberland County, Virginia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Cumberland County nearly doubled to 1,436, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 1,273. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cumberland County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.5% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.9% | 2024 12.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,677 | 2024 $62,104 |
The table uses 3.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.3% 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 Cumberland County's history
1749
Established in 1749 from Goochland County. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 10,052. The 2020 Census counted 9,675, 96% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1969
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cumberland County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cumberland County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Cumberland County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Cumberland County ranks 3rd of the seven; Prince Edward County is highest, at 36.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buckingham County, VA | 87 | 18.4% | 34.4% |
| Prince Edward County, VA | 77 | 17.6% | 36.8% |
| Cumberland County, VA | 62 | 12.7% | 29.4% |
| Amelia County, VA | 56 | 9.6% | 27.7% |
| Fluvanna County, VA | 24 | 7.1% | 21.5% |
| Powhatan County, VA | 11 | 6.7% | 15.7% |
| Goochland County, VA | 1 | 6.9% | 11.3% |
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 Cumberland County the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Cumberland County's poverty rate was 12.7% in 2024, 55th 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, Cumberland County ranks 54th of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cumberland 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 Cumberland 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 Cumberland County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.