About one in 14 people in Fluvanna County, Virginia, lives below the poverty line
In Fluvanna County, 7.1% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 75% of U.S. counties.
What drives Fluvanna County's score
In Fluvanna County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 48.4. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 13.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Fluvanna 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.
Fluvanna County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 48.4 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 income21.0% · fiscal year 202753rd percentile
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- 46.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.3% · August 202527th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people165.1 · 202564th percentile
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- 37.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.8% · August 202539th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.3% · August 202551st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score32.5% · second quarter of 202621st percentile
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- 31.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202620th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.4% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
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- 13.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.1% · 20244th percentile
- Children below the poverty line8.6% · 20248th percentile
- People with a disability10.4% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- People without health insurance6.7% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$94,002 · 20248th 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 Fluvanna 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 Fluvanna County, 21.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Fluvanna County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Fluvanna County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 21.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Fluvanna County, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Fluvanna County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 5.0% in 2016 to 2.7% in 2017.
The share of households in Fluvanna County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2020, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 1.7% 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, Fluvanna County, Virginia.
How Fluvanna County has changed
Fluvanna County's population had its largest rise, from 14,917 in 1994 to 19,529 in 1999.
Fluvanna County's population grew to about four times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 28,746, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 25,909. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Fluvanna County, Virginia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Fluvanna County more than doubled to 4,726, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 3,579. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Fluvanna County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.8% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.5% | 2024 7.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,654 | 2024 $94,002 |
The table uses 3.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.2% 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 Fluvanna County's history
1777
Created in 1777 from Albemarle County. Wikipedia
1989
A thunderstorm in November 1989 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 27,249, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1969
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Fluvanna County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Fluvanna County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Fluvanna County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Fluvanna County ranks 4th of the five; Buckingham County is highest, at 34.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buckingham County, VA | 87 | 18.4% | 34.4% |
| Cumberland County, VA | 62 | 12.7% | 29.4% |
| Louisa County, VA | 42 | 8.3% | 25.0% |
| Fluvanna County, VA | 24 | 7.1% | 21.5% |
| Albemarle County, VA | 10 | 8.3% | — |
| 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 Fluvanna County the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Fluvanna County's poverty rate was 7.1% in 2024, 113th 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, Fluvanna County ranks 107th of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Fluvanna 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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Central 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 Fluvanna 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 Fluvanna County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.