About one in 10 people in Shenandoah County, Virginia, lives below the poverty line
In Shenandoah County, 10.3% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 75% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 69% of U.S. counties.
What drives Shenandoah County's score
In Shenandoah County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 41.3. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 34.4. About one in seven renters (15.2%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 67% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Shenandoah 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.
Shenandoah 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.
- 41.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.0% · August 202526th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people139.3 · 202555th percentile
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- 39.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.2% · August 202544th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.2% · August 202535th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score37.3% · second quarter of 202638th percentile
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- 39.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.3% · 202424th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.8% · 202432nd percentile
- People with a disability17.0% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
- People without health insurance7.4% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,392 · 202434th percentile
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- 38.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202638th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.9% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
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- 34.4 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 rent15.2% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.4% · fiscal year 202736th 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 Shenandoah 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 Shenandoah County, 22.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Shenandoah County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Shenandoah County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 24.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Shenandoah County, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Shenandoah County getting SNAP food aid rose most in two steps: 6.7% in 2010 to 8.3% in 2011; 8.2% in 2012 to 9.8% in 2013.
The share of households in Shenandoah County getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled from 2009 to 2023, reaching 11.1%, then turned down in 2024
High on the chart: 11.1% in 2017. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Shenandoah County, Virginia.
How Shenandoah County has changed
Shenandoah County's population had its largest rise, from 34,639 in 1999 to 38,272 in 2004.
Shenandoah County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 45,441, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2014 to 2019, reaching 43,866. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Shenandoah County, Virginia.
The number of jobs located in Shenandoah County had its largest drop, from 14,539 in 2005 to 13,191 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Shenandoah County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 10% since
High on the chart: 14,539 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Shenandoah County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.7% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.1% | 2024 10.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,790 | 2024 $72,392 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.8% 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 Shenandoah County's history
1996
A flash flood in January 1996 did $27 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
A tornado in April 2002 did $1.6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A flash flood in July 2015 did $1.9 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A thunderstorm in September 2016 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 44,186, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1972
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Shenandoah County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Shenandoah County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Shenandoah County, in Virginia and West Virginia, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Shenandoah County ranks 3rd of the four; Page County is highest, at 30.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Page County, VA | 60 | 12.2% | 30.5% |
| Hardy County, WV | 49 | 14.1% | 27.8% |
| Shenandoah County, VA | 30 | 10.3% | 24.4% |
| Warren County, VA | 29 | 9.8% | 20.8% |
| Frederick County, VA | 14 | 6.3% | — |
| Rockingham County, VA | 13 | 8.2% | — |
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 Shenandoah County the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Shenandoah County's poverty rate was 10.3% in 2024, 84th 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, Shenandoah County ranks 100th of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Shenandoah 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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Blue Ridge Legal Services
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 Shenandoah 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 Shenandoah County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.