Benefit checks make up 37 cents of every dollar of income in Mecklenburg County, Virginia
In Mecklenburg County, 37.2% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 88% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 61% of U.S. counties.
What drives Mecklenburg County's score
In Mecklenburg County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 76.0. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 64.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Mecklenburg 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.
Mecklenburg County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (5.8%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (19.2%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 76.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.6% · August 202588th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.3% · August 202577th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.7% · second quarter of 202662nd percentile
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- 64.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.1% · August 202564th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people166.4 · 202565th percentile
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- 58.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.5% · 202460th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.3% · 202456th percentile
- People with a disability19.4% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
- People without health insurance5.8% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$59,944 · 202470th percentile
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- 51.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202655th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.2% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
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- 35.1 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 rent15.8% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.2% · fiscal year 202733rd 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 Mecklenburg 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 Mecklenburg County, 26.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Mecklenburg County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Mecklenburg County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 37.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a fifth more than benefit checks
In Mecklenburg County, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 37.2%; 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 Mecklenburg County getting SNAP food aid doubled to 16.8%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2023 to 2024, reaching 16.8%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Mecklenburg County, Virginia.
How Mecklenburg County has changed
Mecklenburg County's population fell most sharply after its 2009 high, from 32,815 in 2009 to 30,950 in 2014.
Mecklenburg County's population rose 4% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 32,815 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Mecklenburg County, Virginia.
The number of jobs located in Mecklenburg County had its largest drop, from 14,746 in 2000 to 12,792 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Mecklenburg County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 14,746 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Mecklenburg County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.8% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.6% | 2024 14.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,401 | 2024 $59,944 |
The table uses 3.7% for 2025; the score uses 4.2% 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 Mecklenburg County's history
1765
Organized March 1, 1765, having split from Lunenburg County. Wikipedia
1950
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 33,497. The 2020 Census counted 30,319, 91% of the peak. Census Bureau
1988
A tornado in August 1988 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A flash flood in January 2024 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Mecklenburg County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Mecklenburg County beside its neighbors
All seven counties that border Mecklenburg County, in Virginia and North Carolina, score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Mecklenburg County ranks 6th of the eight; Brunswick County is highest, at 39.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vance County, NC | 96 | 18.1% | 38.9% |
| Warren County, NC | 85 | 20.1% | 39.0% |
| Halifax County, VA | 85 | 15.0% | 38.4% |
| Brunswick County, VA | 78 | 20.2% | 39.9% |
| Lunenburg County, VA | 74 | 19.9% | 35.7% |
| Charlotte County, VA | 70 | 15.9% | 38.7% |
| Granville County, NC | 67 | 13.5% | 23.8% |
| Mecklenburg County, VA | 61 | 14.5% | 37.2% |
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 Mecklenburg County the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Mecklenburg County's poverty rate was 14.5% in 2024, 47th 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, Mecklenburg County ranks 56th of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Mecklenburg 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 Mecklenburg 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 Mecklenburg County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.