Benefit checks make up 38 cents of every dollar of income in Halifax County, Virginia
In Halifax County, 38.4% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 90% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 85% of U.S. counties.
What drives Halifax County's score
In Halifax County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 81.6. People with a credit card behind: 8.7%, August 2025, higher than in 89% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 79.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Halifax 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.
Halifax County does better than most counties on one measure: people without health insurance (6.8%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.6 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.7% · August 202589th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.9% · August 202588th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.2% · second quarter of 202667th percentile
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- 79.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202680th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.9% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
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- 69.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector28.3% · August 202569th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people176.5 · 202568th percentile
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- 65.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.0% · 202464th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.4% · 202457th percentile
- People with a disability20.2% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- People without health insurance6.8% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,620 · 202483rd percentile
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- 62.8 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 rent22.4% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.7% · fiscal year 202750th 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 Halifax 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 Halifax County, 25.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Halifax County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Halifax County had its largest rise, from 24.6% in 2004 to 30.8% in 2009.
In Halifax County, benefit checks' share of income has grown since 1969, reaching 38.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a quarter more than benefit checks
In Halifax County, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income rose from 1969 to 2024, reaching 38.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Halifax County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 20.7%, with most of the change between 2022 and 2023
High on the chart: 21.0% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Halifax County, Virginia.
How Halifax County has changed
Halifax County's population had its largest rise, from 35,999 in 1989 to 37,495 in 1994.
Halifax County's population fell 10% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 37,911 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Halifax County, Virginia.
The number of jobs located in Halifax County had its largest rise, from 10,726 in 1995 to 13,732 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Halifax County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 14% since
High on the chart: 13,732 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Halifax County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.7% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.5% | 2024 15.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1993 $25,049 | 2024 $54,620 |
The table uses 4.7% for 2025; the score uses 5.0% 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 Halifax County's history
1752
Established in 1752 by English colonists from Lunenburg County. Wikipedia
1950
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 41,442. The 2020 Census counted 34,022, 82% of the peak. Census Bureau
1969
A tornado in March 1969 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
A flash flood in September 1996 did $7 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A flash flood in October 2018 did $2.58 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Halifax County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Halifax County beside its neighbors
Halifax County scores higher than all seven counties that border it, in Virginia and North Carolina. For the share of income from benefit checks, Halifax County ranks 2nd of the six; Charlotte County is highest, at 38.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halifax County, VA | 85 | 15.0% | 38.4% |
| Charlotte County, VA | 70 | 15.9% | 38.7% |
| Person County, NC | 69 | 14.3% | 30.2% |
| Granville County, NC | 67 | 13.5% | 23.8% |
| Pittsylvania County, VA | 63 | 13.5% | — |
| Mecklenburg County, VA | 61 | 14.5% | 37.2% |
| Caswell County, NC | 60 | 16.8% | 32.2% |
| Campbell County, VA | 41 | 11.2% | — |
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 Halifax County the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Halifax County's poverty rate was 15.0% in 2024, 44th 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, Halifax County ranks 18th of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Halifax 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 Halifax 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 Halifax County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.