About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Mason County, West Virginia, are not working
In Mason County, 30.0% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 89% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 61% of U.S. counties.
What drives Mason County's score
In Mason County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 76.3. People with a credit card behind: 9.8%, August 2025, higher than in 94% 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 Mason 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.
Mason County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (11.0%, 2020 to 2024) and people without health insurance (6.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 76.3 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.8% · August 202594th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.9% · August 202559th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score48.1% · second quarter of 202674th 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 line16.3% · 202472nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.8% · 202467th percentile
- People with a disability20.1% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- People without health insurance6.1% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,080 · 202480th percentile
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- 61.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202633rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working30.0% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
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- 53.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector28.6% · August 202569th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people100.9 · 202536th percentile
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- 29.9 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 rent11.0% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.2% · fiscal year 202744th 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 Mason 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 Mason County, 22.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Mason County
West Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Mason County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 36.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Mason County, West Virginia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Mason County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 15.8% in 2012 to 18.5% in 2013.
The share of households in Mason County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 18.4%
Low on the chart: 14.0% 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, Mason County, West Virginia.
How Mason County has changed
Mason County's population had its largest rise, from 25,118 in 1974 to 26,419 in 1979.
Mason County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2009 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 27,309 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Mason County, West Virginia.
The number of jobs located in Mason County had its largest rise in the last span, from 5,293 in 2020 to 6,881 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Mason County fell 3% from 1990 to 2025, with its low point on the chart in 2020
Low on the chart: 5,293 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Mason County, West Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.2% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.2% | 2024 16.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,363 | 2024 $56,080 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Mason County's history
1804
Created January 2, 1804 from Kanawha County. Wikipedia
1970
Marietta Manufacturing Company closure. Wikipedia
1996
Heavy rain in May 1996 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 27,324. The 2020 Census counted 25,453, 93% of the peak. Census Bureau
2012
A thunderstorm in June 2012 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
Heavy rain in January 2013 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Mason County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Mason County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Mason County, in West Virginia and Ohio, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Mason County ranks 2nd of the six; Gallia County is highest, at 37.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cabell County, WV | 81 | 17.2% | 29.0% |
| Gallia County, OH | 80 | 20.1% | 37.0% |
| Meigs County, OH | 79 | 14.9% | 35.9% |
| Jackson County, WV | 69 | 17.5% | 31.1% |
| Mason County, WV | 61 | 16.3% | 36.4% |
| 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 Mason County the poorest county in West Virginia?
No, Mason County's poverty rate was 16.3% in 2024, 32nd 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, Mason County ranks 32nd of 55 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Mason 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.
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 Mason County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.