West Virginia County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 55 counties in West Virginia, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 51.8. 5counties are in Serious or Crisis.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
West Virginia Snapshot
55 Counties Scored
51.8 Mean Score
49.6 Median Score
70.4 Webster County Most Distressed
30.2 Tucker County Least Distressed
5 Serious 22 Elevated 27 Normal 1 Healthy
Zone Distribution West Virginia County Map
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Healthy Normal Elevated Serious Crisis
All 55 West Virginia counties colored by distress zone. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How West Virginia's 55 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All West Virginia Counties
55 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Zone | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 371 | Webster County | 70.4 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 2 | 376 | Boone County | 70.3 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 3 | 494 | Cabell County | 68.0 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 4 | 541 | Mingo County | 67.1 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 5 | 562 | Clay County | 66.8 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 6 | 677 | Mercer County | 64.4 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 7 | 691 | Logan County | 64.2 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 8 | 711 | Raleigh County | 63.9 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 9 | 748 | Lincoln County | 63.4 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 10 | 775 | McDowell County | 63.0 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 11 | 788 | Fayette County | 62.7 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 12 | 875 | Summers County | 61.2 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 13 | 878 | Randolph County | 61.1 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 14 | 887 | Wayne County | 60.9 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 15 | 921 | Wyoming County | 60.4 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 16 | 922 | Hancock County | 60.4 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 17 | 953 | Kanawha County | 59.9 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 18 | 1,073 | Brooke County | 58.0 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 19 | 1,093 | Lewis County | 57.7 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 20 | 1,115 | Berkeley County | 57.6 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 21 | 1,284 | Ohio County | 54.9 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 22 | 1,286 | Calhoun County | 54.8 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 23 | 1,300 | Greenbrier County | 54.5 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 24 | 1,363 | Upshur County | 53.7 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 25 | 1,410 | Marshall County | 52.9 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 26 | 1,467 | Wood County | 51.8 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 27 | 1,509 | Nicholas County | 51.2 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 28 | 1,598 | Barbour County | 49.6 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 29 | 1,616 | Marion County | 49.3 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 30 | 1,622 | Hardy County | 49.3 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 31 | 1,628 | Monongalia County | 49.2 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 32 | 1,664 | Gilmer County | 48.7 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 33 | 1,682 | Grant County | 48.4 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 34 | 1,688 | Monroe County | 48.4 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 35 | 1,692 | Roane County | 48.3 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 36 | 1,711 | Jackson County | 48.1 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 37 | 1,732 | Preston County | 47.8 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 38 | 1,781 | Braxton County | 46.9 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 39 | 1,796 | Harrison County | 46.7 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 40 | 1,847 | Mason County | 46.0 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 41 | 1,857 | Putnam County | 45.8 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 42 | 1,985 | Doddridge County | 43.5 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 43 | 2,025 | Hampshire County | 42.8 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 44 | 2,108 | Ritchie County | 41.3 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 45 | 2,133 | Pleasants County | 40.9 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 46 | 2,136 | Taylor County | 40.8 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 47 | 2,160 | Wetzel County | 40.5 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 48 | 2,174 | Mineral County | 40.3 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 49 | 2,269 | Pendleton County | 38.8 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 50 | 2,302 | Wirt County | 38.1 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 51 | 2,331 | Tyler County | 37.6 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 52 | 2,379 | Morgan County | 36.7 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 53 | 2,388 | Jefferson County | 36.5 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 54 | 2,447 | Pocahontas County | 35.6 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 55 | 2,750 | Tucker County | 30.2 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using PCA-weighted percentile-rank scoring across five statistically derived dimensions: Consumer Credit Distress, Housing Cost Burden, Structural Poverty, Economic Vitality, and Legal Distress. A score of 50 means the county falls at the national median. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.
Crisis (≥80) — Among the most distressed counties in the country
Serious (65–80) — More distressed than roughly 80% of counties
Elevated (50–65) — More distressed than roughly half of counties
Normal (35–50) — Near the national median
Healthy (<35) — Less distressed than most counties