In Calhoun County, West Virginia, benefit checks brought in more money than paychecks in 2024
In 2024, 45 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 88% of U.S. counties.
What drives Calhoun County's score
In Calhoun County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 95.0. Unemployment averaged 7.0%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 84.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Calhoun 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.
Calhoun County does better than most counties on one measure: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (50.3, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.0 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year7.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working40.1% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 84.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line22.9% · 202493rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line25.5% · 202483rd percentile
- People with a disability23.0% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- People without health insurance9.0% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$47,867 · 202494th percentile
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- 78.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.7% · August 202589th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.3% · August 202565th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.8% · second quarter of 202679th percentile
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- 66.0 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 rent19.1% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.7% · fiscal year 202776th percentile
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- 44.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.8% · August 202578th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people50.3 · 20259th 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 Calhoun 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 Calhoun County, 26.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Calhoun County
West Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Calhoun County, benefit checks overtook pay in 2024, a bigger share of income than across West Virginia
In Calhoun County, West Virginia, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 45.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Calhoun County getting SNAP food aid rose most in two steps: 21.2% in 2016 to 25.1% in 2017; 21.6% in 2023 to 25.5% in 2024.
The share of households in Calhoun County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen to 25.5%
Low on the chart: 16.1% 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, Calhoun County, West Virginia.
How Calhoun County has changed
Calhoun County's population had its largest drop, from 7,242 in 2014 to 6,373 in 2019.
Calhoun County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 8,478 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Calhoun County, West Virginia.
The number of jobs located in Calhoun County had its largest drop, from 1,294 in 2015 to 1,043 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Calhoun County fell by about a fifth from 1990 to 2025, reaching 1,206, with its low point on the chart in 2020
Low on the chart: 1,043 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Calhoun County, West Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 17.1% | 2025 7.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 27.4% | 2024 22.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,031 | 2024 $47,867 |
The table uses 7.1% for 2025; the score uses 7.0% 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 Calhoun County's history
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 12,455. The 2020 Census counted 6,229, 50% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1967
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Calhoun County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Calhoun County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Calhoun County, one scores higher. Of the group, Calhoun County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (45.1%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clay County, WV | 92 | 20.1% | 40.7% |
| Calhoun County, WV | 88 | 22.9% | 45.1% |
| Roane County, WV | 68 | 19.2% | 40.1% |
| Braxton County, WV | 64 | 19.9% | 40.5% |
| Gilmer County, WV | 64 | 26.8% | 35.2% |
| Wirt County, WV | 59 | 16.6% | 37.2% |
| Ritchie County, WV | 56 | 14.8% | 33.4% |
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 Calhoun County the poorest county in West Virginia?
No, Calhoun County's poverty rate was 22.9% in 2024, 7th 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, Calhoun County ranks 10th of 55 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Calhoun 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 Calhoun 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 Calhoun County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.