Kanawha County, West Virginia

County Distress Index: Elevated · 53.2 | 174,805 people · 26th most distressed in West Virginia

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Kanawha County, WV registers elevated household financial distress with a score of 53.2 — 1358th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Debt & Delinquency, where residents carry heavy debt burdens with elevated delinquency and collections rates. Within West Virginia, it ranks 26th of 55 counties. Among its 9 neighboring counties, 7 show more distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Kanawha County's primary driver is Debt & Delinquency at 70.8 — above the national median.

Debt & Delinquency Primary driver 70.8
Debt in Collections 83
Medical Debt 89
Student Loan Delinquency 72
Auto Loan Delinquency 78
Credit Card Delinquency 73
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 30
Income & Poverty 51.5
Poverty Rate 65
Income vs. State Median 35
Child Poverty Rate 55
Housing Cost Burden 50.6
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 54
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 58
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 13
Homeownership Rate 70
Rent-to-Income Ratio 58
Community Vulnerability 46.8
Uninsured Rate 14
Disability Rate 79
Employment & Wages 46.2
Unemployment Rate 64
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 8
Business Formation Rate 67

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Kanawha County compares to its 9 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Kanawha County
Kanawha County, WV 53.2 Elevated
Clay County, WV 68.1 Serious +15.0
Boone County, WV 66.2 Serious +13.0
Lincoln County, WV 64.9 Elevated +11.7
Fayette County, WV 63.6 Elevated +10.4
Roane County, WV 57.5 Elevated +4.3
Nicholas County, WV 56.4 Elevated +3.2
Raleigh County, WV 55.0 Elevated +1.9
Jackson County, WV 53.1 Elevated -0.1
Putnam County, WV 35.6 Normal -17.6

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Kanawha County
Clinton County, NY 53.2 Elevated +0.0
Washington County, OK 53.2 Elevated +0.0
Clallam County, WA 53.1 Elevated -0.0
Monroe County, PA 53.3 Elevated +0.1
Bastrop County, TX 53.1 Elevated -0.1

Download Data

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