In Lee County, Virginia, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2020
In 2024, 46 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 96% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lee County's score
In Lee County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 92.6. People with a credit card behind: 10.5%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 88.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lee 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.
Lee County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (105.8, 2025) and people without health insurance (7.0%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 92.6 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind10.5% · August 202595th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.5% · August 202593rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score54.4% · second quarter of 202688th percentile
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- 88.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202678th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working45.2% · 2020 to 202499th percentile
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- 84.6 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 rent24.0% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.8% · fiscal year 202786th percentile
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- 84.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line26.0% · 202496th percentile
- Children below the poverty line26.0% · 202484th percentile
- People with a disability28.9% · 2020 to 202498th percentile
- People without health insurance7.0% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$43,916 · 202497th percentile
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- 57.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.0% · August 202576th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people105.8 · 202539th 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 Lee 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 Lee County, 23.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lee County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Lee County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Virginia
In Lee County, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 45.8%; 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 Lee County getting SNAP food aid rose to 28.2%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2013 to 2014, reaching 25.9%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lee County, Virginia.
How Lee County has changed
Lee County's population had its largest rise, from 23,050 in 1974 to 26,018 in 1979.
Lee County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and is down 17% since
High on the chart: 26,085 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lee County, Virginia.
The number of jobs located in Lee County had its largest drop, from 5,304 in 2010 to 4,467 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Lee County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 5,364 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lee County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.5% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 35.4% | 2024 26.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,825 | 2024 $43,916 |
The table uses 4.4% for 2025; the score uses 4.9% 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 Lee County's history
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 39,296. The 2020 Census counted 22,173, 56% of the peak. Census Bureau
2012
A tornado in March 2012 did $1.65 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1976
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lee County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lee County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Lee County, in Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lee County ranks 3rd of the six; Harlan County is highest, at 59.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bell County, KY | 98 | 31.8% | 56.0% |
| Harlan County, KY | 97 | 29.4% | 59.0% |
| Lee County, VA | 96 | 26.0% | 45.8% |
| Hancock County, TN | 94 | 26.1% | 43.6% |
| Wise County, VA | 85 | 19.5% | — |
| Scott County, VA | 81 | 20.1% | 40.5% |
| Claiborne County, TN | 78 | 16.4% | 36.9% |
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 Lee County the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Lee County's poverty rate was 26.0% in 2024, 4th 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, Lee County ranks 6th of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lee 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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Southwest 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.
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 Lee County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.