About one in 10 people in Warren County, Virginia, lives below the poverty line
In Warren County, 9.8% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 79% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 70% of U.S. counties.
What drives Warren County's score
In Warren County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 44.6. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 29.0. About one in 10 children (9.6%, 2024) lives below the poverty line, a lower share than in 88% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Warren 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.
Warren 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.
- 44.6 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202630th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.2% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
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- 43.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.3% · August 202527th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people150.6 · 202560th percentile
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- 38.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.5% · August 202532nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.4% · August 202539th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score38.1% · second quarter of 202642nd percentile
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- 34.9 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 rent13.1% · 2020 to 202422nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.4% · fiscal year 202747th percentile
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- 29.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.8% · 202420th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.6% · 202411th percentile
- People with a disability14.9% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- People without health insurance9.0% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$85,203 · 202414th 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 Warren 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 Warren County, 17.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Warren County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Warren County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 20.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Warren County, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Warren County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 10.5%, with most of the change between 2021 and 2022
High on the chart: 10.9% in 2016. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Warren County, Virginia.
How Warren County has changed
Warren County's population had its largest rise, from 31,091 in 1999 to 34,434 in 2004.
Warren County's population tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 42,461, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2014 to 2019, reaching 40,516. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Warren County, Virginia.
The number of jobs located in Warren County had its largest rise, from 7,274 in 1995 to 10,024 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Warren County doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 12,966, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 7,274. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Warren County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.3% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.8% | 2024 9.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,789 | 2024 $85,203 |
The table uses 3.3% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Warren County's history
1996
A flash flood in January 1996 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
A flash flood in September 1996 did $6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 40,727, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1972
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Warren County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Warren County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Warren County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Warren County ranks 3rd of the six; Page County is highest, at 30.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Page County, VA | 60 | 12.2% | 30.5% |
| Rappahannock County, VA | 33 | 9.1% | 15.0% |
| Shenandoah County, VA | 30 | 10.3% | 24.4% |
| Warren County, VA | 29 | 9.8% | 20.8% |
| Clarke County, VA | 20 | 7.5% | 16.6% |
| Frederick County, VA | 14 | 6.3% | — |
| Fauquier County, VA | 11 | 6.6% | 12.5% |
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 Warren County the poorest county in Virginia?
No, Warren County's poverty rate was 9.8% in 2024, 89th 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, Warren County ranks 102nd of 133 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Warren 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 Warren 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 Warren County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.