About one in three adults aged 25 to 54 in Essex County, Virginia, is not working
In Essex County, 31.8% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 92% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 84% of U.S. counties.
What drives Essex County's score
In Essex County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 80.8. Bankruptcy filings ran at 415.2 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 75.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Essex 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.
Essex County does better than most counties on one measure: people below the poverty line (11.7%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.7% · August 202566th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people415.2 · 2025top 5%
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- 75.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.3% · August 202563rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind12.3% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score45.3% · second quarter of 202667th percentile
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- 75.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202658th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working31.8% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
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- 66.6 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 rent22.3% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.6% · fiscal year 202758th percentile
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- 54.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.7% · 202437th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.5% · 202458th percentile
- People with a disability17.2% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- People without health insurance8.8% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$64,311 · 202456th 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 Essex 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 Essex County, 24.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Essex County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Essex County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 32.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Essex County, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Essex County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply after its 2010 low, from 6.8% in 2010 to 9.6% in 2011.
The share of households in Essex County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2021 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 6.8% 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, Essex County, Virginia.
How Essex County has changed
Essex County's population had its largest rise, from 7,102 in 1969 to 8,268 in 1974.
Essex County's population rose by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 10,683
High on the chart: 11,104 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Essex County, Virginia.
The number of jobs located in Essex County had its largest rise, from 3,533 in 1990 to 3,979 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Essex County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 14% since
High on the chart: 4,140 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Essex County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.8% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.0% | 2024 11.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,231 | 2024 $64,311 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Essex County's history
1692
Formed in 1692. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 11,151. The 2020 Census counted 10,599, 95% of the peak. Census Bureau
2016
A tornado in February 2016 did $4.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Essex County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Essex County beside its neighbors
Essex County scores higher than all six counties that border it. Of the group, Essex County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (32.6%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essex County, VA | 84 | 11.7% | 32.6% |
| Westmoreland County, VA | 79 | 13.8% | 30.2% |
| Richmond County, VA | 65 | 16.7% | 31.4% |
| King and Queen County, VA | 59 | 12.5% | 25.9% |
| Caroline County, VA | 46 | 10.4% | 22.7% |
| Middlesex County, VA | 44 | 11.2% | 29.1% |
| King George County, VA | 18 | 6.6% | 16.1% |
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 Essex County the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Essex County's poverty rate was 11.7% in 2024, 68th 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, Essex County ranks 24th of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Essex 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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Legal Services of Northern 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.
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 Essex County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.