In Madison County, Virginia, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Madison County, 16.3% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 91% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 90% of U.S. counties.
What drives Madison County's score
In Madison County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 28.6. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 18.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Madison 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.
Madison 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.
- 28.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.6% · August 202510th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people120.3 · 202547th percentile
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- 27.4 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 202619th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.4% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
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- 23.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.3% · 202424th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.0% · 202422nd percentile
- People with a disability14.4% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- People without health insurance5.0% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$83,686 · 202415th percentile
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- 22.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.1% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.9% · August 202530th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.3% · second quarter of 202630th percentile
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- 18.6 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 rent14.5% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.3% · fiscal year 20278th 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 Madison 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 Madison County, 23.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Madison County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Madison County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 20.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Madison County, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Madison County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise in the last span, from 7.9% in 2023 to 10.6% in 2024.
The share of households in Madison County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2020, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 6.3% 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, Madison County, Virginia.
How Madison County has changed
Madison County's population nearly doubled to 14,252, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 9,873. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Madison County, Virginia.
The number of jobs located in Madison County had its largest rise, from 2,578 in 1995 to 3,291 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Madison County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 10% since
High on the chart: 3,432 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Madison County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.8% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.2% | 2024 10.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,014 | 2024 $83,686 |
The table uses 2.9% 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 Madison County's history
1792
Established in December 1792 from Culpeper County. Wikipedia
2018
A flash flood in May 2018 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 13,837, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1972
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Madison County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Madison County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Madison County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Madison County ranks 4th of the six; Page County is highest, at 30.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Page County, VA | 60 | 12.2% | 30.5% |
| Rappahannock County, VA | 33 | 9.1% | 15.0% |
| Culpeper County, VA | 30 | 9.6% | 20.0% |
| Orange County, VA | 26 | 8.5% | 23.9% |
| Greene County, VA | 24 | 8.4% | 21.4% |
| Madison County, VA | 9 | 10.3% | 20.7% |
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: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Madison County the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Madison County's poverty rate was 10.3% in 2024, 84th 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, Madison County ranks 124th of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Madison 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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Skyline Community Action Partnership, Inc.
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Legal Services of Northern Virginia
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 Madison 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 Madison County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.