Benefit checks make up 40 cents of every dollar of income in Patrick County, Virginia
In Patrick County, 40.1% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 93% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 60% of U.S. counties.
What drives Patrick County's score
In Patrick County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 65.8. The typical household earns $54,805 a year (2024), less than in 82% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 64.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Patrick 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.
Patrick County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (5.4%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a subprime credit score (36.7%, Q2 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 65.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.6% · 202473rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.3% · 202465th percentile
- People with a disability20.4% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
- People without health insurance5.4% · 2020 to 202424th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,805 · 202482nd percentile
-
- 64.3 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 working25.6% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
-
- 64.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.5% · August 202565th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.5% · August 202590th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score36.7% · second quarter of 202635th percentile
-
- 46.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.3% · August 202543rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people125.6 · 202549th percentile
-
- 43.3 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 rent16.0% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.7% · fiscal year 202749th percentile
-
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 Patrick 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 Patrick County, 27.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Patrick County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Patrick County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about five times its 1969 level, reaching 40.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Patrick County, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 40.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Patrick County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 9.4% in 2010 to 12.8% in 2011.
The share of households in Patrick County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 9.3% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Patrick County, Virginia.
How Patrick County has changed
Patrick County's population rose most sharply from its first year (15,404 in 1969) to 16,713 in 1974.
Patrick County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 19,339 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Patrick County, Virginia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Patrick County fell by about a quarter to 4,043, the lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 2015 and 2020
High on the chart: 5,513 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Patrick County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.6% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.9% | 2024 16.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,653 | 2024 $54,805 |
The table uses 3.7% 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 Patrick County's history
1756
Fort Mayo built as Virginia frontier fort during French and Indian War. Wikipedia
1791
Patrick County formed in 1791 from Henry County. Wikipedia
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 19,407. The 2020 Census counted 17,608, 91% of the peak. Census Bureau
2004
A flash flood in September 2004 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A flash flood in September 2015 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A flood in September 2015 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1976
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Patrick County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Patrick County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Patrick County, in Virginia and North Carolina, three score higher. Of the group, Patrick County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (40.1%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henry County, VA | 85 | 16.0% | — |
| Carroll County, VA | 65 | 14.4% | — |
| Surry County, NC | 61 | 16.7% | 30.4% |
| Patrick County, VA | 60 | 16.6% | 40.1% |
| Stokes County, NC | 49 | 11.8% | 32.2% |
| Franklin County, VA | 37 | 12.3% | 26.9% |
| Floyd County, VA | 15 | 11.4% | 29.2% |
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 Patrick County the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Patrick County's poverty rate was 16.6% in 2024, 34th 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, Patrick County ranks 57th of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Patrick 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.
-
Virginia Legal Aid Society
Legal aid
-
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 Patrick 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 Patrick County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.