About one in four people in Gilmer County, West Virginia, lives below the poverty line
In Gilmer County, 26.8% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 64% of U.S. counties.
What drives Gilmer County's score
In Gilmer County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 78.1. About half of people (52.5%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 84% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 78.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Gilmer 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.
Gilmer County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (41.4, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (8.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 78.1 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.4% · August 202564th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.2% · August 202584th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score52.5% · second quarter of 202684th percentile
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- 78.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202661st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working35.3% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 67.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line26.8% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line22.4% · 202473rd percentile
- People with a disability14.4% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- People without health insurance6.7% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$48,225 · 202494th percentile
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- 41.8 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 rent8.4% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.5% · fiscal year 202774th percentile
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- 28.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.5% · August 202551st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people41.4 · 20256th 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 Gilmer 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 Gilmer County, 18.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Gilmer County
West Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Gilmer County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 35.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Gilmer County, West Virginia, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Gilmer County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 14.7% in 2022 to 21.9% in 2023.
The share of households in Gilmer County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and has since fallen to 21.6%
Low on the chart: 14.4% 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, Gilmer County, West Virginia.
How Gilmer County has changed
Gilmer County's population had its largest drop, from 8,328 in 2014 to 7,489 in 2019.
Gilmer County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and is down 17% since
High on the chart: 8,607 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Gilmer County, West Virginia.
The number of jobs located in Gilmer County fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 2,184 in 2015 to 1,702 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Gilmer County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 2,184 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Gilmer County, West Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 11.2% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 26.5% | 2024 26.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,133 | 2024 $48,225 |
The table uses 4.4% for 2025; the score uses 4.3% 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 Gilmer County's history
1845
February 3, 1845, from parts of Lewis and Kanawha Counties. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 12,046. The 2020 Census counted 7,408, 61% of the peak. Census Bureau
2012
A thunderstorm in June 2012 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Gilmer County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Gilmer County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Gilmer County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Gilmer County ranks 3rd of the six; Calhoun County is highest, at 45.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calhoun County, WV | 88 | 22.9% | 45.1% |
| Lewis County, WV | 70 | 16.2% | 32.6% |
| Braxton County, WV | 64 | 19.9% | 40.5% |
| Gilmer County, WV | 64 | 26.8% | 35.2% |
| Ritchie County, WV | 56 | 14.8% | 33.4% |
| 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 Gilmer County the poorest county in West Virginia?
No, Gilmer County's poverty rate was 26.8% in 2024, 2nd 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, Gilmer County ranks 30th of 55 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Gilmer 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 Gilmer 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 Gilmer County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.