About one in 15 people in Fauquier County, Virginia, lives below the poverty line
In Fauquier County, 6.6% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 88% of U.S. counties.
What drives Fauquier County's score
In Fauquier County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 62.5. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 8.9. The typical household earns $118,871 a year (2024), more than in 98% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Fauquier 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, Fauquier County is worse off than most counties on rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (24.6%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 62.5 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 rent17.0% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.6% · fiscal year 202781st percentile
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- 24.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.8% · August 202510th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people103.8 · 202537th percentile
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- 17.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.8% · August 202522nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.2% · August 202518th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score28.9% · second quarter of 202610th percentile
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- 15.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202612th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.5% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
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- 9.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line6.6% · 20243rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line6.6% · 20242nd percentile
- People with a disability9.6% · 2020 to 20243rd percentile
- People without health insurance6.2% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$118,871 · 20241st 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 Fauquier 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 Fauquier County, 17.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Fauquier County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Fauquier County had its largest rise, from 6.4% in 2004 to 8.9% in 2009.
In Fauquier County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 12.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about five times as much as benefit checks
In Fauquier County, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 12.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Fauquier County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (2.3% in 2009) to 3.4% in 2010.
The share of households in Fauquier County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 4.8%
Low on the chart: 2.3% 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, Fauquier County, Virginia.
How Fauquier County has changed
Fauquier County's population had its largest rise, from 39,169 in 1984 to 48,044 in 1989.
Fauquier County's population tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 75,865, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1989 to 1994, reaching 50,406. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Fauquier County, Virginia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Fauquier County nearly doubled to 23,920, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2000 to 2005, reaching 21,579. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Fauquier County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.6% | 2025 2.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 5.9% | 2024 6.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $41,436 | 2024 $118,871 |
The table uses 2.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.0% 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 Fauquier County's history
1759
Established May 1, 1759, from Prince William County. Wikipedia
1999
Hail in April 1999 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
Hail in May 2000 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
Lightning in August 2001 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
A tornado in August 2005 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 72,972, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1972
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Fauquier County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Fauquier County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Fauquier County, six score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Fauquier County ranks 6th of the seven; Warren County is highest, at 20.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rappahannock County, VA | 33 | 9.1% | 15.0% |
| Culpeper County, VA | 30 | 9.6% | 20.0% |
| Prince William County, VA | 29 | 6.6% | — |
| Warren County, VA | 29 | 9.8% | 20.8% |
| Stafford County, VA | 26 | 5.4% | 15.6% |
| Clarke County, VA | 20 | 7.5% | 16.6% |
| Fauquier County, VA | 11 | 6.6% | 12.5% |
| Loudoun County, VA | 3 | 4.3% | 6.5% |
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 Fauquier County the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Fauquier County's poverty rate was 6.6% in 2024, 119th 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, Fauquier County ranks 122nd of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Fauquier 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.
Download the CSV for Fauquier 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 Fauquier County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.