About one in 15 people in Powhatan County, Virginia, lives below the poverty line
In Powhatan County, 6.7% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 96% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 88% of U.S. counties.
What drives Powhatan County's score
In Powhatan County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 43.1. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 6.6. About one in 16 children (6.2%, 2024) lives below the poverty line, a lower share than in 97% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Powhatan 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.
Powhatan 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.
- 43.2 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent20.5% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.0% · fiscal year 202722nd percentile
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- 37.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.0% · August 20258th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people168.2 · 202566th percentile
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- 25.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202612th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.9% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
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- 16.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.7% · August 20257th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.3% · August 202535th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score26.7% · second quarter of 20266th percentile
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- 6.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line6.7% · 20243rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line6.2% · 20242nd percentile
- People with a disability11.7% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- People without health insurance4.3% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$109,889 · 20243rd 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 Powhatan 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 Powhatan County, 19.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Powhatan County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Powhatan County had its largest rise, from 9.0% in 2004 to 12.6% in 2009.
In Powhatan County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 15.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Powhatan County, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 15.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Powhatan County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 2.3% in 2009 to 3.8% in 2010.
The share of households in Powhatan County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 1.5%
Biggest drop: 2022 to 2023, reaching 1.9%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Powhatan County, Virginia.
How Powhatan County has changed
Powhatan County's population had its largest rise, from 17,941 in 1994 to 21,775 in 1999.
Powhatan County's population grew to about four times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 32,392, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 13,323. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Powhatan County, Virginia.
The number of jobs located in Powhatan County had its largest rise, from 3,699 in 1995 to 5,129 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Powhatan County more than doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 8,689, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2005 to 2010, reaching 6,230. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Powhatan County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.1% | 2025 2.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 6.7% | 2024 6.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $35,299 | 2024 $109,889 |
The table uses 2.7% for 2025; the score uses 3.0% 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 Powhatan County's history
1777
Powhatan County created in May 1777 from Cumberland County. Wikipedia
1878
Convict lease workers, chiefly African American, used to build roads in 1878. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 30,333, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1969
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Powhatan County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Powhatan County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Powhatan County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Powhatan County ranks 4th of the five; Cumberland County is highest, at 29.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cumberland County, VA | 62 | 12.7% | 29.4% |
| Amelia County, VA | 56 | 9.6% | 27.7% |
| Chesterfield County, VA | 34 | 7.1% | 17.1% |
| Powhatan County, VA | 11 | 6.7% | 15.7% |
| Goochland County, VA | 1 | 6.9% | 11.3% |
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 Powhatan County the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Powhatan County's poverty rate was 6.7% in 2024, 118th 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, Powhatan County ranks 121st of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Powhatan 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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Central 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 Powhatan 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 Powhatan County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.