Benefit checks make up 37 cents of every dollar of income in Prince Edward County, Virginia
In Prince Edward County, 36.8% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 87% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 77% of U.S. counties.
What drives Prince Edward County's score
In Prince Edward County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 76.9. Bankruptcy filings ran at 294.8 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 90% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 75.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Prince Edward 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.
Prince Edward County does better than most counties on two measures: adults 25 to 54 not working (12.9%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a disability (14.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 76.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector26.8% · August 202563rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people294.8 · 202590th percentile
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- 75.3 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 rent23.0% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.2% · fiscal year 202772nd percentile
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- 75.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.4% · August 202565th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.9% · August 202582nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.1% · second quarter of 202677th percentile
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- 58.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.6% · 202478th percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.4% · 202473rd percentile
- People with a disability14.1% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- People without health insurance6.2% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,299 · 202475th percentile
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- 47.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202685th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.9% · 2020 to 20248th 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 Prince Edward 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 Prince Edward County, 17.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Prince Edward County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Prince Edward County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 36.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a quarter more than benefit checks
In Prince Edward County, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 36.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Prince Edward County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 13.7% in 2019 to 18.2% in 2020.
The share of households in Prince Edward County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2023 and has since fallen to 17.2%
Low on the chart: 9.9% 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, Prince Edward County, Virginia.
How Prince Edward County has changed
Prince Edward County's population made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 20,639 in 2004 to 23,260 in 2009.
Prince Edward County's population rose by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22,276
High on the chart: 23,260 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Prince Edward County, Virginia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Prince Edward County rose 18% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 8,761 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Prince Edward County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.1% | 2025 4.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 25.1% | 2024 17.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,156 | 2024 $58,299 |
The table uses 4.9% for 2025; the score uses 5.4% 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 Prince Edward County's history
1754
Formed in 1754 from Amelia County. Wikipedia
1873
Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad fell into default on its debt after the Financial Panic of 1873. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 23,368. The 2020 Census counted 21,849, 93% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1972
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Prince Edward County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Prince Edward County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Prince Edward County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Prince Edward County ranks 3rd of the eight; Nottoway County is highest, at 39.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buckingham County, VA | 87 | 18.4% | 34.4% |
| Nottoway County, VA | 81 | 19.0% | 39.9% |
| Prince Edward County, VA | 77 | 17.6% | 36.8% |
| Lunenburg County, VA | 74 | 19.9% | 35.7% |
| Charlotte County, VA | 70 | 15.9% | 38.7% |
| Cumberland County, VA | 62 | 12.7% | 29.4% |
| Amelia County, VA | 56 | 9.6% | 27.7% |
| Appomattox County, VA | 38 | 12.2% | 31.0% |
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 Prince Edward County the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Prince Edward County's poverty rate was 17.6% in 2024, 26th 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, Prince Edward County ranks 33rd of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Prince Edward 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 Prince Edward 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 Prince Edward County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.