Benefit checks make up 40 cents of every dollar of income in Nottoway County, Virginia
In Nottoway County, 39.9% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 93% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 81% of U.S. counties.
What drives Nottoway County's score
In Nottoway County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 84.2. People with a car or retail loan behind: 9.4%, August 2025, higher than in 89% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 75.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Nottoway 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.
Nottoway County does better than most counties on one measure: renters paying half their income or more in rent (16.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 84.2 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.0% · August 202584th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.4% · August 202589th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.4% · second quarter of 202678th percentile
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- 75.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.0% · August 202573rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people212 · 202577th percentile
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- 75.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.0% · 202483rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.7% · 202470th percentile
- People with a disability19.3% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
- People without health insurance10.3% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$57,326 · 202477th percentile
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- 59.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202651st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.7% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
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- 49.2 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 rent16.5% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.5% · fiscal year 202758th 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 Nottoway 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 Nottoway County, 18.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Nottoway County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Nottoway County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 39.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Nottoway County, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 39.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Nottoway County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 26.4% in 2018 to 20.4% in 2019.
The share of households in Nottoway County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen to 15.2%
Low on the chart: 11.9% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Nottoway County, Virginia.
How Nottoway County has changed
Nottoway County's population had its largest rise, from 14,950 in 1989 to 15,457 in 1994.
Nottoway County's population rose 9% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 15,894 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Nottoway County, Virginia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Nottoway County fell 6% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 2005 and 2010
High on the chart: 6,007 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Nottoway County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.4% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.0% | 2024 19.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,105 | 2024 $57,326 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Nottoway County's history
1788
Nottoway Parish became Nottoway County by legislative act in 1788. Wikipedia
1880
Crewe established as railroad town from Robertson's Switch siding. Wikipedia
1941
Fort Pickett established as military facility, now Virginia National Guard headquarters. Wikipedia
2000
Decline of tobacco, railroads, and Fort Barfoot caused economic difficulties. Wikipedia
2003
A flash flood in May 2003 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 15,853. The 2020 Census counted 15,642, 99% of the peak. Census Bureau
2019
A thunderstorm in July 2019 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Nottoway County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Nottoway County beside its neighbors
Nottoway County scores higher than all five counties that border it. Of the group, Nottoway County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (39.9%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nottoway County, VA | 81 | 19.0% | 39.9% |
| Brunswick County, VA | 78 | 20.2% | 39.9% |
| Prince Edward County, VA | 77 | 17.6% | 36.8% |
| Lunenburg County, VA | 74 | 19.9% | 35.7% |
| Dinwiddie County, VA | 73 | 10.1% | — |
| Amelia County, VA | 56 | 9.6% | 27.7% |
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 Nottoway County the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Nottoway County's poverty rate was 19.0% in 2024, 20th 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, Nottoway County ranks 25th of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Nottoway 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 Nottoway 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 Nottoway County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.