In Dickenson County, Virginia, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2016
In 2024, 47 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 72% of U.S. counties.
What drives Dickenson County's score
In Dickenson County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 86.4. About one in three adults aged 25 to 54 (33.1%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a higher share than in 94% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 72.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Dickenson 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.
Dickenson County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (4.3%, 2020 to 2024) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (12.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 86.4 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202678th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working33.1% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
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- 72.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.9% · 202487th percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.8% · 202475th percentile
- People with a disability36.3% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance4.3% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$50,078 · 202491st percentile
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- 60.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.8% · August 202582nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.9% · August 202530th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.4% · second quarter of 202667th percentile
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- 52.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.2% · August 202564th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people110 · 202541st percentile
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- 44.7 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 rent12.7% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.6% · fiscal year 202768th 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 Dickenson 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 Dickenson County, 24.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Dickenson County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Dickenson County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Virginia
In Dickenson County, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 47.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Dickenson County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop in the last span, from 27.2% in 2023 to 23.2% in 2024.
The share of households in Dickenson County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2023 and has since fallen to 23.2%
Low on the chart: 16.8% 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, Dickenson County, Virginia.
How Dickenson County has changed
Dickenson County's population had its largest rise, from 17,767 in 1974 to 20,186 in 1979.
Dickenson County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1979 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 20,186 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Dickenson County, Virginia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Dickenson County fell 14% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 3,877 in 1990. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Dickenson County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 16.8% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 25.6% | 2024 19.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,690 | 2024 $50,078 |
The table uses 4.8% for 2025; the score uses 5.0% 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 Dickenson County's history
1880
Formed in 1880 from Buchanan, Russell, and Wise counties; Virginia's youngest county. Wikipedia
1932
Splashdam Mine explosion June 13, 1932 killed 10 people. Wikipedia
1950
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 23,393. The 2020 Census counted 14,124, 60% of the peak. Census Bureau
2023
A thunderstorm in May 2023 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Dickenson County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Dickenson County beside its neighbors
All four counties that border Dickenson County, in Virginia and Kentucky, score higher than it does. Of the group, Dickenson County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (47.2%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buchanan County, VA | 96 | 23.5% | 44.5% |
| Pike County, KY | 95 | 22.4% | 44.9% |
| Wise County, VA | 85 | 19.5% | — |
| Russell County, VA | 74 | 15.9% | 41.1% |
| Dickenson County, VA | 72 | 19.9% | 47.2% |
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 Dickenson County the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Dickenson County's poverty rate was 19.9% in 2024, 16th 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, Dickenson County ranks 39th of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Dickenson 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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Southwest 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 Dickenson 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 Dickenson County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.