Benefit checks make up 39 cents of every dollar of income in Grayson County, Virginia
In Grayson County, 38.5% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 90% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 65% of U.S. counties.
What drives Grayson County's score
In Grayson County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 74.7. The typical household earns $52,291 a year (2024), less than in 87% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 61.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Grayson 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.
Grayson County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a credit card behind (4.6%, August 2025) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (98.1, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 74.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.6% · 202478th percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.9% · 202471st percentile
- People with a disability21.7% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
- People without health insurance7.6% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$52,291 · 202487th percentile
-
- 61.9 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 rent20.5% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.6% · fiscal year 202759th percentile
-
- 58.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.6% · August 202534th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.3% · August 202589th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score40.6% · second quarter of 202651st percentile
-
- 57.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202642nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.7% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
-
- 44.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector24.1% · August 202553rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people98.1 · 202535th 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 Grayson 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 Grayson County, 26.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Grayson County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Grayson County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 38.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a fifth more than benefit checks
In Grayson County, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 38.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Grayson County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 12.5% in 2021 to 16.5% in 2022.
The share of households in Grayson County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 16.3%
Low on the chart: 11.4% 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, Grayson County, Virginia.
How Grayson County has changed
Grayson County's population had its largest drop, from 17,812 in 1999 to 16,301 in 2004.
Grayson County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 14% since
High on the chart: 17,812 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Grayson County, Virginia.
The number of jobs located in Grayson County had its largest rise, from 2,554 in 2015 to 3,171 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Grayson County fell to its lowest on the chart in 2010, then climbed past the 1990 level
Low on the chart: 2,350 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Grayson County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.4% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.6% | 2024 17.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,244 | 2024 $52,291 |
The table uses 3.7% for 2025; the score uses 3.8% 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 Grayson County's history
1793
Founded in 1793 from part of Wythe County. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 21,916. The 2020 Census counted 15,333, 70% of the peak. Census Bureau
2024
A flood in September 2024 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A flash flood in September 2024 did $23 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1976
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Grayson County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Grayson County beside its neighbors
Of the nine counties that border Grayson County, in Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Grayson County ranks 2nd of the seven; Johnson County is highest, at 39.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johnson County, TN | 78 | 20.9% | 39.0% |
| Galax city, VA | 78 | 21.6% | — |
| Smyth County, VA | 77 | 17.5% | 36.5% |
| Wythe County, VA | 67 | 11.8% | 35.0% |
| Grayson County, VA | 65 | 17.6% | 38.5% |
| Carroll County, VA | 65 | 14.4% | — |
| Surry County, NC | 61 | 16.7% | 30.4% |
| Alleghany County, NC | 61 | 15.1% | 36.2% |
| Washington County, VA | 46 | 11.7% | — |
| Ashe County, NC | 33 | 15.5% | 34.0% |
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 Grayson County the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Grayson County's poverty rate was 17.6% in 2024, 26th 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, Grayson County ranks 48th of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Grayson 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.
-
Southwest 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 Grayson 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 Grayson County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.