In Goochland County, Virginia, benefit checks make up only 11 cents of every dollar of income
In Goochland County, 11.3% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 98% of U.S. counties.
What drives Goochland County's score
In Goochland County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 32.4. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 5.8. About one in 38 people (2.6%, 2020 to 2024) has no health insurance, a lower share than in 98% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Goochland 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.
Goochland 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.
- 32.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector10.6% · August 20254th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people150.8 · 202560th percentile
-
- 17.4 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 202623rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working13.9% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
-
- 10.4 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 rent9.7% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.4% · fiscal year 20279th percentile
-
- 7.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind1.8% · August 20252nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.2% · August 202516th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score23.2% · second quarter of 20261st percentile
-
- 5.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line6.9% · 20243rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line6.5% · 20242nd percentile
- People with a disability12.6% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- People without health insurance2.6% · 2020 to 20241st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$121,009 · 20241st percentile
-
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 Goochland 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 Goochland County, 25.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Goochland County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Goochland County had its largest drop, from 9.1% in 1984 to 6.0% in 1989.
In Goochland County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 11.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about five times as much as benefit checks
In Goochland County, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 11.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Goochland County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 5.1% in 2013 to 7.0% in 2014.
The share of households in Goochland County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 2.2% 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, Goochland County, Virginia.
How Goochland County has changed
Goochland County's population had its largest rise in the last span, from 24,297 in 2019 to 28,223 in 2024.
Goochland County's population tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28,223, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 22,180. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Goochland County, Virginia.
The number of jobs located in Goochland County had its largest rise, from 10,792 in 2010 to 15,040 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Goochland County grew to about six times its 1990 size in 2025, reaching 18,926, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 18,926. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Goochland County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.1% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.2% | 2024 6.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $35,597 | 2024 $121,009 |
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 Goochland County's history
1962
A tornado in May 1962 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 24,727, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
-
Since 1969
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Goochland County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Goochland County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Goochland County score higher than it does. Of the group, Goochland County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Cumberland County gets the largest, at 29.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cumberland County, VA | 62 | 12.7% | 29.4% |
| Henrico County, VA | 47 | 10.3% | 14.7% |
| Louisa County, VA | 42 | 8.3% | 25.0% |
| Fluvanna County, VA | 24 | 7.1% | 21.5% |
| Powhatan County, VA | 11 | 6.7% | 15.7% |
| Hanover County, VA | 7 | 6.1% | 15.2% |
| 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 Goochland County the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Goochland County's poverty rate was 6.9% in 2024, 117th 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, Goochland County ranks 133rd of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Goochland 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.
-
Central Virginia Legal Aid Society
Legal aid
-
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 Goochland 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 Goochland County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.