About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Tazewell County, Virginia, are not working
In Tazewell County, 30.3% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 90% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 88% of U.S. counties.
What drives Tazewell County's score
In Tazewell County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 88.6. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 82.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Tazewell 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.
Tazewell County does better than most counties on one measure: people without health insurance (4.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 88.6 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202687th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working30.3% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
-
- 82.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.5% · August 202575th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people283.7 · 202589th percentile
-
- 73.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.1% · August 202574th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.3% · August 202565th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score50.8% · second quarter of 202681st percentile
-
- 63.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.4% · 202477th percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.6% · 202462nd percentile
- People with a disability20.1% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- People without health insurance4.1% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$52,238 · 202488th percentile
-
- 59.0 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 rent19.5% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.7% · fiscal year 202759th percentile
-
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 Tazewell 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 Tazewell County, 23.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Tazewell County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Tazewell County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 37.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a quarter more than benefit checks
In Tazewell County, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 37.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Tazewell County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 16.3% in 2019 to 14.6% in 2020.
The share of households in Tazewell County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 15.3%
Low on the chart: 13.2% 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, Tazewell County, Virginia.
How Tazewell County has changed
Tazewell County's population had its largest rise, from 44,614 in 1974 to 50,753 in 1979.
Tazewell County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1979 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 50,753 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Tazewell County, Virginia.
The number of jobs located in Tazewell County had its largest drop, from 15,355 in 2015 to 13,671 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Tazewell County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 16,803 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Tazewell County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.3% | 2025 5.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.9% | 2024 17.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,589 | 2024 $52,238 |
The table uses 5.1% 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 Tazewell County's history
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 50,511. The 2020 Census counted 40,429, 80% of the peak. Census Bureau
2001
A flash flood in July 2001 did $15 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A flash flood in November 2003 did $1.6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A flash flood in July 2015 did $3.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
A flood in February 2020 did $1.85 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1976
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Tazewell County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Tazewell County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Tazewell County, in Virginia and West Virginia, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Tazewell County ranks 5th of the seven; McDowell County is highest, at 52.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buchanan County, VA | 96 | 23.5% | 44.5% |
| McDowell County, WV | 95 | 38.4% | 52.2% |
| Tazewell County, VA | 88 | 17.4% | 37.1% |
| Smyth County, VA | 77 | 17.5% | 36.5% |
| Mercer County, WV | 76 | 17.9% | 40.1% |
| Russell County, VA | 74 | 15.9% | 41.1% |
| Bland County, VA | 41 | 14.6% | 34.8% |
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 Tazewell County the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Tazewell County's poverty rate was 17.4% in 2024, 30th 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, Tazewell County ranks 14th of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Tazewell 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.
-
Southwest Virginia Legal Aid Society
Legal aid
-
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 Tazewell 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 Tazewell County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.