About one in four people in Greensville County, Virginia, lives below the poverty line
In Greensville County, 26.2% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 96% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 90% of U.S. counties.
What drives Greensville County's score
In Greensville County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 91.5. People with a credit card behind: 12.7%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 86.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Greensville 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.
Greensville County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (4.6%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a disability (13.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 91.6 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind12.7% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.8% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score52.2% · second quarter of 202684th percentile
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- 86.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector38.5% · August 202592nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people224.6 · 202580th percentile
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- 72.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.6% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
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- 67.5 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 rent22.7% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.5% · fiscal year 202758th percentile
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- 60.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line26.2% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line26.7% · 202486th percentile
- People with a disability13.7% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
- People without health insurance4.6% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,795 · 202478th 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.
How Greensville County has changed
The number of jobs located in Greensville County had its largest rise, from 3,398 in 1990 to 4,405 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Greensville County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 5,056 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Greensville County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.8% | 2025 6.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 25.6% | 2024 26.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1993 $26,548 | 2024 $56,795 |
The table uses 6.6% for 2025; the score uses 6.3% 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 Greensville County's history
1781
Established in 1781 from Brunswick County. Wikipedia
1893
Poor farm conditions and the Panic of 1893 caused Monroe County's population to decrease between 1880 and 1890. Wikipedia
1940
An early chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was formed in Greensville County and Emporia in May 1940 under the leadership of dentist Dr. F. A. Sealy. Wikipedia
1950
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 16,319. The 2020 Census counted 11,391, 70% of the peak. Census Bureau
1999
A flash flood in September 1999 did $1.2 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Greensville County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Greensville County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Greensville County, in Virginia and North Carolina, two score higher.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emporia city, VA | 97 | 20.6% | — |
| Northampton County, NC | 95 | 22.5% | 40.9% |
| Greensville County, VA | 90 | 26.2% | — |
| Sussex County, VA | 87 | 21.9% | 39.0% |
| Brunswick County, VA | 78 | 20.2% | 39.9% |
| Dinwiddie County, VA | 73 | 10.1% | — |
| Southampton County, VA | 52 | 12.7% | — |
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: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Greensville County the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Greensville County's poverty rate was 26.2% in 2024, 3rd 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, Greensville County ranks 12th of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Greensville 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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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 Greensville 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.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.