Benefit checks make up 39 cents of every dollar of income in Greenbrier County, West Virginia
In Greenbrier County, 38.5% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 90% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 65% of U.S. counties.
What drives Greenbrier County's score
In Greenbrier County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 75.6. About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 (28.2%, 2020 to 2024) aren't working, a higher share than in 85% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 66.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Greenbrier 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.
Greenbrier County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (77.8, 2025) and people without health insurance (6.3%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 75.6 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202665th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working28.2% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
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- 66.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.2% · 202471st percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.8% · 202467th percentile
- People with a disability19.6% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- People without health insurance6.3% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$55,405 · 202481st percentile
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- 61.8 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 rent20.7% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.5% · fiscal year 202758th percentile
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- 51.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.2% · August 202545th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.1% · August 202548th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.3% · second quarter of 202661st percentile
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- 39.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector24.6% · August 202555th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people77.8 · 202523rd 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 Greenbrier 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 Greenbrier County, 24.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Greenbrier County
West Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Greenbrier County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 38.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Greenbrier County, West Virginia, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 38.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Greenbrier County getting SNAP food aid rose by about a third to 18.2%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2019 to 2020, reaching 17.3%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Greenbrier County, West Virginia.
How Greenbrier County has changed
Greenbrier County's population had its largest rise, from 33,168 in 1974 to 37,023 in 1979.
Greenbrier County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and is down 14% since
High on the chart: 37,141 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Greenbrier County, West Virginia.
The number of jobs located in Greenbrier County had its largest drop, from 13,226 in 2015 to 11,980 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Greenbrier County rose 7% from 1990 to 2025
High on the chart: 13,237 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Greenbrier County, West Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 12.3% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.4% | 2024 16.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,321 | 2024 $55,405 |
The table uses 4.3% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 Greenbrier County's history
1950
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 39,295. The 2020 Census counted 32,977, 84% of the peak. Census Bureau
1974
A tornado in April 1974 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1989
A thunderstorm in April 1989 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A debris flow in March 2015 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in June 2016 did $40 million in property damage and killed 16 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Greenbrier County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Greenbrier County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Greenbrier County, in West Virginia and Virginia, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Greenbrier County ranks 5th of the eight; Webster County is highest, at 50.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webster County, WV | 97 | 24.4% | 50.0% |
| Summers County, WV | 94 | 24.2% | 45.2% |
| Fayette County, WV | 87 | 20.8% | 38.3% |
| Nicholas County, WV | 75 | 16.4% | 40.3% |
| Pocahontas County, WV | 67 | 17.4% | 43.6% |
| Greenbrier County, WV | 65 | 16.2% | 38.5% |
| Monroe County, WV | 59 | 13.9% | 36.0% |
| Alleghany County, VA | 51 | 11.5% | — |
| Bath County, VA | 17 | 11.3% | 22.5% |
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 Greenbrier County the poorest county in West Virginia?
No, Greenbrier County's poverty rate was 16.2% in 2024, 33rd 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, Greenbrier County ranks 28th of 55 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Greenbrier 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 Greenbrier 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 Greenbrier County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.