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 (Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024). That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 97% 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 combines five things we measure for every county: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each gets a score from 0 to 100; the higher the score, the worse off the county is compared with others.
Goochland County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
The five parts count equally; together they hold 14 measures. Under each part, a bar shows where Goochland County ranks among all 3,144 U.S. counties on that measure, as a percentile: the share of counties it is higher than. A longer bar means more trouble.
- 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
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- 17.4 of 100
Jobs
Adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey; unemployment through Aug 2026
- Adults 25 to 54 not working13.9% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- Unemployment rate, 12-month average3.3% · Sep 2025 to Aug 202623rd percentile
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- 10.4 of 100
Housing costs
HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027; renters, 2020–24 Census survey
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.4% · fiscal year 20279th percentile
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent9.7% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
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- 9.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, Q4 2025
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.2% · August 202516th percentile
- People with a credit card behind1.8% · August 20252nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score14.0% · Q4 20258th percentile
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- 5.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- Children below the poverty line6.5% · 20242nd percentile
- People with a disability12.6% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$121,009 · 20241st percentile
- People below the poverty line6.9% · 20243rd percentile
- People without health insurance2.6% · 2020 to 20241st percentile
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Sources: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and U.S. Census Bureau income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; 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 Aug 2026.
Where the money in Goochland County comes from
The Bureau of Economic Analysis adds up all the income that reaches the people of a county and splits it three ways: pay from work, income from investments and rent, and benefit checks.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Goochland County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Goochland County in 2024, pay from work was 52 cents of every dollar of income. Income from investments and rentals was 37 cents. Benefit checks were 11 cents. Across the country, pay is 61 cents of the dollar and benefit checks are 18.
That split has held roughly steady since 1969, when benefit checks were 7 cents of every dollar.
Income from investments and rentals is unusually large here: 37 cents of the dollar, against 21 nationally.
In Goochland County, pay from work still brings in most of the money
Benefit checks and pay from work as shares of all personal income, Goochland County, Virginia: 11.3% and 51.8% in 2024. Yearly, 1969–2024.
Use this chart Free to use with credit
The quote: In 2024, benefit checks made up 11.3% of all personal income in Goochland County, Virginia (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAINC4).
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.
How Goochland County has changed
The number of people living in Goochland County more than doubled between 1969 and 2024, from 10,103 to 28,223. The number of jobs located there more than doubled from 1990 to 2024.
Unemployment fell from 3.1% in 1990 to 3.0% in 2025.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| People living in the countyBEA | 1969 10,103 | 2024 28,223 |
| Jobs located in the countyBLS QCEW | 1990 3,062 | 2024 18,663 |
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.1% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.2% | 2024 6.9% |
| Median household income (not adjusted for prices)Census SAIPE | 1989 $35,597 | 2024 $121,009 |
| Share of income from benefit checksBEA | 1969 6.8% | 2024 11.3% |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices. We don't chart the distress score over time because it compares counties at one moment.
Dated events in Goochland County's history
Largest decennial census count
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 24,727, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
1962
Tornado: one death. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Goochland County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Storms are listed if they did $1 million or more in damage or killed someone.
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 | 63 | 12.7% | 29.4% |
| Henrico County, VA | 48 | 10.3% | 14.7% |
| Louisa County, VA | 44 | 8.3% | 25.0% |
| Fluvanna County, VA | 25 | 7.1% | 21.5% |
| Powhatan County, VA | 12 | 6.7% | 15.7% |
| Hanover County, VA | 8 | 6.1% | 15.2% |
| Goochland County, VA | 2 | 6.9% | 11.3% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Aug 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.
Goochland County in photographs
Places in Goochland County from Wikimedia Commons, each captioned in its photographer's own words.
Cattle graze on grass at the Tuckahoe Plantation, in Goochland County, VA area on May 5, 2011.
Chicken freely walkabout the lawns and pastures at the Tuckahoe Plantation, in Goochland County, VA area on May 5, 2011.
Goochland County, Virginia: common questions
What is the poverty rate in Goochland County, Virginia?
6.9% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates: about one in 15 people. Among children it was 6.5%.
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.
What is the population of Goochland County, Virginia?
About 28,223 people in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis's count. The 2020 Census counted 24,727, the most of any census.
How is the County Distress Index calculated?
We rank every U.S. county on 14 federal measures of money trouble, grouped into five equally weighted parts, and average them. The published score is the share of the other 3,143 counties with a lower average. The methodology lists every measure and its source.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Goochland County
A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-approved housing counselor works at a nonprofit agency approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The counseling to avoid foreclosure is free, and a counselor can help you talk to your mortgage company and understand what it offers, according to the Consumer Financial Protection BureauSourceCFPB.
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Legal Aid Justice Center
Legal aid
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Virginia Poverty Law Center
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Counseling to avoid foreclosure is free. Our help directory lists 1,313 approved agencies 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 Aug 2026, built from HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. Our methodology
- 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.