About three in ten people with a credit file in Brooke County, West Virginia, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Brooke County, 31.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 78% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 62% of U.S. counties.
What drives Brooke County's score
In Brooke County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 77.1. Late payments on loans come next, at 74.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Brooke 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.
Brooke County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (10.3%, 2020 to 2024) and people without health insurance (6.0%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 77.1 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202678th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.3% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
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- 74.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.8% · August 202570th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.1% · August 202588th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score44.2% · second quarter of 202664th percentile
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- 59.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.6% · August 202578th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people107.6 · 202539th percentile
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- 52.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.6% · 202453rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.4% · 202446th percentile
- People with a disability17.1% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- People without health insurance6.0% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,780 · 202468th percentile
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- 26.9 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 rent10.3% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.9% · fiscal year 202741st 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 Brooke 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 Brooke County, 25.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Brooke County
West Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Brooke County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 29.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Brooke County, West Virginia, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 29.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Brooke County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 12.4% in 2019 to 15.1% in 2020.
The share of households in Brooke County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2022 and has since fallen to 14.1%
Low on the chart: 10.4% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Brooke County, West Virginia.
How Brooke County has changed
Brooke County's population had its largest drop, from 29,165 in 1984 to 27,198 in 1989.
Brooke County's population fell by about a quarter to 21,285, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 30,527 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Brooke County, West Virginia.
The number of jobs located in Brooke County had its largest drop, from 8,150 in 2015 to 7,138 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Brooke County fell 17% from 1990 to 2020, then turned up in 2025
High on the chart: 9,109 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Brooke County, West Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.5% | 2025 4.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.8% | 2024 13.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,817 | 2024 $60,780 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Brooke County's history
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 31,117. The 2020 Census counted 22,559, 72% of the peak. Census Bureau
2016
A flood in July 2016 did $1.2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Brooke County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Brooke County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Brooke County, in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Brooke County ranks 3rd of the five; Jefferson County is highest, at 33.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hancock County, WV | 75 | 13.6% | 31.6% |
| Jefferson County, OH | 72 | 17.7% | 33.9% |
| Ohio County, WV | 71 | 19.2% | 25.6% |
| Brooke County, WV | 62 | 13.6% | 29.0% |
| Washington County, PA | 31 | 10.3% | 19.7% |
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 Brooke County the poorest county in West Virginia?
No, Brooke County's poverty rate was 13.6% in 2024, 48th 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, Brooke County ranks 31st of 55 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Brooke 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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Legal Aid of West Virginia
Legal aid
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Mountain State Justice, Inc.
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 Brooke 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 Brooke County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.