About three in ten people in Scott County, Virginia, have a disability
In Scott County, 27.7% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 81% of U.S. counties.
What drives Scott County's score
In Scott County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 78.9. Jobs come next, at 74.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Scott 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.
Scott County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (5.9%, 2020 to 2024) and people with unpaid debt sent to a collector (21.7%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 78.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.1% · 202487th percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.1% · 202486th percentile
- People with a disability27.7% · 2020 to 202498th percentile
- People without health insurance5.9% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$49,890 · 202491st percentile
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- 74.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202658th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working31.0% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
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- 69.1 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 rent18.1% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income26.2% · fiscal year 202788th percentile
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- 60.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.8% · August 202570th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.9% · August 202545th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score44.2% · second quarter of 202664th percentile
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- 59.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.7% · August 202544th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people196 · 202573rd 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 Scott 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 Scott County, 25.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Scott County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Scott County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, but pay from work still brings in 17% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Scott County, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 40.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Scott County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 12.4% in 2012 to 14.8% in 2013.
The share of households in Scott County getting SNAP food aid doubled to 23.2%, the highest on the chart
Low on the chart: 10.4% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Scott County, Virginia.
How Scott County has changed
Scott County's population had its largest drop, from 24,607 in 1984 to 23,442 in 1989.
Scott County's population fell 13% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 25,296 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Scott County, Virginia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Scott County rose by about a fifth to 4,929, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2000 to 2005, reaching 4,587. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Scott County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.0% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.3% | 2024 20.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,926 | 2024 $49,890 |
The table uses 3.9% for 2025; the score uses 4.3% 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 Scott County's history
1794
Bob Benge led Chickamauga Cherokee armed confrontations with settlers. Wikipedia
1950
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 27,640. The 2020 Census counted 21,576, 78% of the peak. Census Bureau
2001
A flash flood in July 2001 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A flash flood in August 2010 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Scott County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Scott County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Scott County, in Virginia and Tennessee, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Scott County ranks 4th of the six; Lee County is highest, at 45.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lee County, VA | 96 | 26.0% | 45.8% |
| Hancock County, TN | 94 | 26.1% | 43.6% |
| Wise County, VA | 85 | 19.5% | — |
| Scott County, VA | 81 | 20.1% | 40.5% |
| Russell County, VA | 74 | 15.9% | 41.1% |
| Hawkins County, TN | 71 | 13.6% | 34.4% |
| Sullivan County, TN | 64 | 15.7% | 27.8% |
| Washington County, VA | 46 | 11.7% | — |
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 Scott County the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Scott County's poverty rate was 20.1% in 2024, 15th 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, Scott County ranks 26th of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Scott 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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Appalachian Community Action & Development Agency, INC.(APPCAA)
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Southwest 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.
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 Scott County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.