About one in five people in Doddridge County, West Virginia, lives below the poverty line
In Doddridge County, 19.2% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 84% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 52% of U.S. counties.
What drives Doddridge County's score
In Doddridge County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 80.0. People with a credit card behind: 10.2%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 60.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Doddridge 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.
Doddridge County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (26, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (3.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.1 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind10.2% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.3% · August 202564th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score50.2% · second quarter of 202680th percentile
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- 60.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202639th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working26.9% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
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- 56.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.2% · 202484th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.3% · 202450th percentile
- People with a disability16.1% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- People without health insurance5.5% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$59,779 · 202471st percentile
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- 37.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector28.9% · August 202570th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people26 · 20255th or lower percentile
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- 21.3 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 rent3.5% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.6% · fiscal year 202737th 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 Doddridge 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 Doddridge County, 21.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Doddridge County
West Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Doddridge County had its largest rise, from 22.6% in 2004 to 30.5% in 2009.
In Doddridge County, benefit checks' share of income has grown since 1969, reaching 23.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Doddridge County, West Virginia, benefit checks' share of income rose from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Doddridge County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 16.8% in 2012 to 13.7% in 2013.
The share of households in Doddridge County getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 10.3%, with its low point on the chart in 2021
Low on the chart: 6.8% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Doddridge County, West Virginia.
How Doddridge County has changed
Doddridge County's population had its largest rise, from 6,718 in 1974 to 7,425 in 1979.
Doddridge County's population rose by about a fifth from 1969 to 2019, reaching 7,906, then turned down in 2024
High on the chart: 8,221 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Doddridge County, West Virginia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Doddridge County doubled to 1,632, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 1,401. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Doddridge County, West Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.7% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 21.6% | 2024 19.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,314 | 2024 $59,779 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Doddridge County's history
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 13,689. The 2020 Census counted 7,808, 57% of the peak. Census Bureau
2022
A flash flood in August 2022 did $1.4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Doddridge County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Doddridge County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Doddridge County score higher than it does. Of the group, Doddridge County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Wetzel County gets the largest, at 38.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis County, WV | 70 | 16.2% | 32.6% |
| Gilmer County, WV | 64 | 26.8% | 35.2% |
| Ritchie County, WV | 56 | 14.8% | 33.4% |
| Tyler County, WV | 56 | 16.6% | 26.7% |
| Wetzel County, WV | 55 | 16.5% | 38.9% |
| Harrison County, WV | 54 | 14.2% | 24.9% |
| Doddridge County, WV | 52 | 19.2% | 23.8% |
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 Doddridge County the poorest county in West Virginia?
No, Doddridge County's poverty rate was 19.2% in 2024, 14th 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, Doddridge County ranks 43rd of 55 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Doddridge 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 Doddridge 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 Doddridge County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.