In Berkeley County, West Virginia, benefit checks make up only 19 cents of every dollar of income
In Berkeley County, 19.4% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 81% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 55% of U.S. counties.
What drives Berkeley County's score
In Berkeley County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 67.8. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 29.7. The typical household earns $82,567 a year (2024), more than in 83% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Berkeley 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.
Even so, Berkeley County is worse off than most counties on people with a credit card behind (7.7%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 67.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.7% · August 202582nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.4% · August 202566th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score41.6% · second quarter of 202654th percentile
-
- 61.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector28.2% · August 202568th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people135.2 · 202553rd percentile
-
- 37.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202638th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.7% · 2020 to 202437th percentile
-
- 36.9 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 rent19.0% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.7% · fiscal year 202718th percentile
-
- 29.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.0% · 202430th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.7% · 202437th percentile
- People with a disability14.3% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- People without health insurance5.9% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$82,567 · 202416th 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 Berkeley 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 Berkeley County, 15.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Berkeley County
West Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Berkeley County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 19.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than three times as much as benefit checks
In Berkeley County, West Virginia, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 19.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Berkeley County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (7.0% in 2009) to 9.1% in 2010.
The share of households in Berkeley County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen to 11.6%
Low on the chart: 7.0% 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, Berkeley County, West Virginia.
How Berkeley County has changed
Berkeley County's population had its largest rise in the last span, from 120,086 in 2019 to 136,287 in 2024.
Berkeley County's population grew to about four times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 136,287, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 40,917. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Berkeley County, West Virginia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Berkeley County doubled to 38,558, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 23,362. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Berkeley County, West Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.5% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.5% | 2024 11.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,279 | 2024 $82,567 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Berkeley County's history
1772
Created May 15, 1772. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 122,076, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
-
Since 1972
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Berkeley County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Berkeley County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Berkeley County, in West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Berkeley County ranks 3rd of the four; Morgan County is highest, at 33.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington County, MD | 52 | 11.6% | 24.1% |
| Berkeley County, WV | 44 | 11.0% | 19.4% |
| Morgan County, WV | 26 | 11.2% | 33.5% |
| Jefferson County, WV | 17 | 8.7% | 18.6% |
| Frederick County, VA | 14 | 6.3% | — |
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 Berkeley County the poorest county in West Virginia?
No, Berkeley County's poverty rate was 11.0% in 2024, 53rd highest of 55 in West Virginia (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is McDowell County, at 38.4%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Berkeley County ranks 49th of 55 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Berkeley 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.
-
Telamon Corporation - Martinsburg Branch
HUD-approved housing counselor
-
Legal Aid of West Virginia
Legal aid
-
Mountain State Justice, Inc.
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 Berkeley 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 Berkeley County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.