About one in three people with a credit file in Kanawha County, West Virginia, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Kanawha County, 33.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 83% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 70% of U.S. counties.
What drives Kanawha County's score
In Kanawha County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 75.6. People with a car or retail loan behind: 7.4%, August 2025, higher than in 78% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 65.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Kanawha 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.
Kanawha County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (4.9%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (87.5, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 75.6 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.0% · August 202573rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.4% · August 202578th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score48.3% · second quarter of 202675th percentile
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- 65.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202656th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.1% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
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- 59.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.3% · 202466th percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.8% · 202471st percentile
- People with a disability19.6% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- People without health insurance4.9% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,137 · 202463rd percentile
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- 56.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.7% · August 202583rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people87.5 · 202529th percentile
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- 51.7 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 rent19.5% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.2% · fiscal year 202745th 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 Kanawha 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 Kanawha County, 22.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Kanawha County
West Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Kanawha County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 29.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Kanawha County, West Virginia, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Kanawha County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 12.5% in 2011 to 13.4% in 2012.
The share of households in Kanawha County getting SNAP food aid rose from 2009 to 2024, reaching 15.8%
High on the chart: 15.8% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Kanawha County, West Virginia.
How Kanawha County has changed
Kanawha County's population had its largest drop, from 226,057 in 1984 to 209,731 in 1989.
Kanawha County's population fell by about a quarter to 173,906, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 231,031 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Kanawha County, West Virginia.
The number of jobs located in Kanawha County fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 102,811 in 2015 to 89,701 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Kanawha County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 15% since
High on the chart: 112,878 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Kanawha County, West Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.4% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.7% | 2024 15.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,901 | 2024 $62,137 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Kanawha County's history
1789
Founded October 5, 1789. Wikipedia
1912
Miners' strike. Wikipedia
1960
The county's largest recorded population was the 1960 Census count of 252,925. The 2020 Census counted 180,745, 71% of the peak. Census Bureau
1998
A flash flood in June 1998 did $5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
A flash flood in February 2000 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flood in June 2016 did $36 million in property damage and killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flood in June 2016 did $26 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
33 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Kanawha County, 21 of them for flooding. FEMA
Kanawha County beside its neighbors
Of the nine counties that border Kanawha County, six score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Kanawha County ranks 9th of the 10; Clay County is highest, at 40.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boone County, WV | 93 | 18.8% | 39.1% |
| Clay County, WV | 92 | 20.1% | 40.7% |
| Lincoln County, WV | 89 | 21.4% | 36.9% |
| Fayette County, WV | 87 | 20.8% | 38.3% |
| Raleigh County, WV | 85 | 18.7% | 33.7% |
| Nicholas County, WV | 75 | 16.4% | 40.3% |
| Kanawha County, WV | 70 | 15.3% | 29.3% |
| Jackson County, WV | 69 | 17.5% | 31.1% |
| Roane County, WV | 68 | 19.2% | 40.1% |
| Putnam County, WV | 30 | 9.6% | 22.3% |
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 Kanawha County the poorest county in West Virginia?
No, Kanawha County's poverty rate was 15.3% in 2024, 38th 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, Kanawha County ranks 23rd of 55 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Kanawha 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 Kanawha 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 Kanawha County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.