In Monongalia County, West Virginia, benefit checks make up only 18 cents of every dollar of income
In Monongalia County, 18.2% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 84% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 62% of U.S. counties.
What drives Monongalia County's score
In Monongalia County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 68.9. Jobs are the lowest part, at 28.0. About one in six adults aged 25 to 54 (16.3%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a lower share than in 76% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Monongalia 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.
Even so, Monongalia County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (26.5%, 2020 to 2024) and people below the poverty line (18.1%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 68.9 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent26.5% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.4% · fiscal year 202746th percentile
-
- 47.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.8% · August 202538th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.4% · August 202566th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score36.9% · second quarter of 202636th percentile
-
- 39.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.1% · 202480th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.7% · 202426th percentile
- People with a disability12.7% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- People without health insurance5.3% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$67,259 · 202448th percentile
-
- 28.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.2% · August 202546th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people52 · 202510th percentile
-
- 28.0 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 202632nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.3% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
-
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 Monongalia 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 Monongalia County, 13.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Monongalia County
West Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Monongalia County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 18.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than three times as much as benefit checks
In Monongalia County, West Virginia, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 18.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Monongalia County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.2% in 2015 to 8.5% in 2016.
The share of households in Monongalia County getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 9.3%
High on the chart: 9.7% 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, Monongalia County, West Virginia.
How Monongalia County has changed
Monongalia County's population nearly doubled to 108,697, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 103,251. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Monongalia County, West Virginia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Monongalia County nearly doubled to 59,770, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 59,770. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Monongalia County, West Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.7% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.8% | 2024 18.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,021 | 2024 $67,259 |
The table uses 3.4% 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 Monongalia County's history
1776
Founded October 9, 1776. Wikipedia
1980
A tornado in June 1980 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1982
A tornado in June 1982 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 105,822, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
-
Since 1972
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Monongalia County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Monongalia County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Monongalia County, in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, score higher than it does. Of the group, Monongalia County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Wetzel County gets the largest, at 38.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fayette County, PA | 86 | 14.7% | 33.7% |
| Greene County, PA | 66 | 17.7% | 28.9% |
| Marion County, WV | 56 | 14.7% | 29.2% |
| Wetzel County, WV | 55 | 16.5% | 38.9% |
| Preston County, WV | 54 | 15.4% | 30.8% |
| Taylor County, WV | 52 | 16.8% | 26.5% |
| Monongalia County, WV | 37 | 18.1% | 18.2% |
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 Monongalia County the poorest county in West Virginia?
No, Monongalia County's poverty rate was 18.1% in 2024, 20th 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, Monongalia County ranks 50th of 55 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Monongalia 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.
-
Legal Aid of West Virginia
Legal aid
-
Mountain State Justice, Inc.
Legal aid
-
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 Monongalia 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 Monongalia County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.