About one in 16 people in Hanover County, Virginia, lives below the poverty line
In Hanover County, 6.1% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 92% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hanover County's score
In Hanover County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 37.1. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 5.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hanover 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.
Hanover 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.
- 37.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.9% · August 20257th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people169.1 · 202566th percentile
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- 36.7 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 rent19.9% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.9% · fiscal year 202712th percentile
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- 20.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.5% · August 202519th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.8% · August 202529th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.0% · second quarter of 202610th percentile
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- 15.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202618th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.0% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
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- 5.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line6.1% · 20242nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line6.7% · 20242nd percentile
- People with a disability11.3% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- People without health insurance4.4% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$117,424 · 20242nd 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 Hanover 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 Hanover County, 19.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hanover County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Hanover County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 15.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Hanover County, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 15.2%; 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 Hanover County getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled to 5.2%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2009 to 2010, reaching 3.6%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Hanover County, Virginia.
How Hanover County has changed
Hanover County's population had its largest rise, from 71,430 in 1994 to 84,602 in 1999.
Hanover County's population tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 115,309, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 52,291. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hanover County, Virginia.
The number of jobs located in Hanover County had its largest rise in the last span, from 50,934 in 2020 to 57,566 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Hanover County doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 57,566, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2015 to 2020, reaching 50,934. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hanover County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.8% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 4.4% | 2024 6.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $38,490 | 2024 $117,424 |
The table uses 3.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.2% 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 Hanover County's history
1998
A tornado in April 1998 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2004
A flash flood in August 2004 did $2 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 109,979, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1969
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hanover County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hanover County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Hanover County, six score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Hanover County ranks 4th of the seven; Louisa County is highest, at 25.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henrico County, VA | 47 | 10.3% | 14.7% |
| Caroline County, VA | 46 | 10.4% | 22.7% |
| Spotsylvania County, VA | 46 | 7.0% | — |
| Louisa County, VA | 42 | 8.3% | 25.0% |
| King William County, VA | 40 | 6.6% | 20.2% |
| New Kent County, VA | 8 | 4.4% | 10.8% |
| 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 Hanover County the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Hanover County's poverty rate was 6.1% in 2024, 125th 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, Hanover County ranks 126th of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hanover 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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Central 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 Hanover 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 Hanover County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.