Nelson County, Virginia

County Distress Index: Normal · 40.7 | 14,705 people · 89th most distressed in Virginia

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Nelson County, VA falls within the normal range for household financial distress at 40.7 — 2310th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Employment & Wages, where employment and wage conditions show moderate stress. Within Virginia, it ranks 89th of 133 counties. Its score is in the middle of its 6 neighboring counties.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Nelson County's primary driver is Employment & Wages at 51.6 — above the national median.

Employment & Wages Primary driver 51.6
Unemployment Rate 34
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 95
Business Formation Rate 26
Income & Poverty 40.0
Poverty Rate 52
Income vs. State Median 18
Child Poverty Rate 50
Housing Cost Burden 37.9
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 28
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 36
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 11
Homeownership Rate 23
Rent-to-Income Ratio 92
Community Vulnerability 37.8
Uninsured Rate 46
Disability Rate 29
Debt & Delinquency 36.3
Debt in Collections 24
Medical Debt 14
Student Loan Delinquency 47
Auto Loan Delinquency 38
Credit Card Delinquency 30
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 64

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Nelson County compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Nelson County
Nelson County, VA 40.7 Normal
Buckingham County, VA 63.1 Elevated +22.4
Amherst County, VA 52.6 Elevated +11.9
Appomattox County, VA 44.7 Normal +4.0
Rockbridge County, VA 40.1 Normal -0.7
Augusta County, VA 37.6 Normal -3.1
Albemarle County, VA 30.6 Healthy -10.1

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Nelson County
Adams County, NE 40.7 Normal -0.0
Ford County, KS 40.7 Normal -0.0
Kandiyohi County, MN 40.8 Normal +0.1
Wyoming County, PA 40.8 Normal +0.1
Harvey County, KS 40.8 Normal +0.1

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