About one in four people with a credit file in Suffolk city, Virginia, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Suffolk city, 25.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 58% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 55% of U.S. counties.
What drives Suffolk city's score
In Suffolk city, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 76.0. Bankruptcy filings ran at 320.9 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 92% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 75.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Suffolk city: 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.
Suffolk city does better than most counties on two measures: median household income ($93,557, 2024) and people below the poverty line (8.3%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 76.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector25.7% · August 202559th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people320.9 · 202592nd 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 rent27.7% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.4% · fiscal year 202757th percentile
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- 59.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.7% · August 202554th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.1% · August 202562nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.9% · second quarter of 202659th percentile
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- 36.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202645th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.0% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
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- 19.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.3% · 202410th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.6% · 202420th percentile
- People with a disability13.3% · 2020 to 202424th percentile
- People without health insurance6.4% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$93,557 · 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 Suffolk city 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 Suffolk city, 15.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Suffolk city
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Suffolk city rose most in two steps: 10.0% in 1974 to 12.8% in 1979; 19.1% in 2019 to 21.9% in 2024.
In Suffolk city, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 21.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Suffolk city, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Suffolk city getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 10.3% in 2012 to 12.2% in 2013.
The share of households in Suffolk city getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 10.0%
Low on the chart: 8.8% 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, Suffolk city, Virginia.
How Suffolk city has changed
Suffolk city's population more than doubled to 103,105, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1999 to 2004, reaching 75,725. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Suffolk city, Virginia.
The number of jobs located in Suffolk city had its largest rise in the last span, from 32,063 in 2020 to 44,427 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Suffolk city tripled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 44,427, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2005 to 2010, reaching 25,095. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Suffolk city, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.2% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.2% | 2024 8.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,066 | 2024 $93,557 |
The table uses 3.6% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Suffolk city's history
1742
Settlement established in 1742 by Virginian colonists as port town on Nansemond River. Wikipedia
1918
Nansemond Ordinance Depot established 1918. Wikipedia
1960
Nansemond Ordinance Depot (Pin Point) closed 1960. Wikipedia
2008
A tornado in April 2008 did $30 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) disestablished August 2011. Wikipedia
2016
A flood in October 2016 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 94,324, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2020
A tornado in August 2020 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Suffolk city, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Suffolk city beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Suffolk city, in Virginia and North Carolina, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Suffolk city ranks 4th of the six; Portsmouth city is highest, at 31.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth city, VA | 96 | 15.2% | 31.9% |
| Gates County, NC | 70 | 14.3% | 29.9% |
| Suffolk city, VA | 55 | 8.3% | 21.9% |
| Southampton County, VA | 52 | 12.7% | — |
| Chesapeake city, VA | 48 | 10.5% | 19.6% |
| Isle of Wight County, VA | 32 | 8.2% | 21.1% |
| Camden County, NC | 3 | 7.5% | 23.0% |
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 Suffolk city the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Suffolk city's poverty rate was 8.3% in 2024, 100th 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, Suffolk city ranks 62nd of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Suffolk city
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.
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 Suffolk city comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.