In Pleasants County, West Virginia, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Pleasants County, 17.8% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 80% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 52% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pleasants County's score
In Pleasants County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 68.0. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 12.5. About one in 40 renters (2.5%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pleasants 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, Pleasants County is worse off than most counties on people with a subprime credit score (50.8%, Q2 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 68.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.9% · 202470th percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.1% · 202468th percentile
- People with a disability18.7% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- People without health insurance10.4% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$63,468 · 202459th percentile
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- 63.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.7% · August 202554th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.6% · August 202555th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score50.8% · second quarter of 202681st percentile
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- 55.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202664th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.1% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
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- 42.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.8% · August 202567th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people67.3 · 202518th percentile
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- 12.5 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 rent2.5% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.8% · fiscal year 202719th 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 Pleasants 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 Pleasants County, 19.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pleasants County
West Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Pleasants County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 33.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Pleasants County, West Virginia, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.7%; 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 Pleasants County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 16.3%, with most of the change between 2010 and 2011
High on the chart: 16.4% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Pleasants County, West Virginia.
How Pleasants County has changed
Pleasants County's population had its largest rise, from 7,486 in 1974 to 8,176 in 1979.
Pleasants County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1979 and is down 10% since
High on the chart: 8,176 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pleasants County, West Virginia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Pleasants County fell by about a fifth from 1990 to 2025, reaching 2,296, with most of the change between 2015 and 2020
High on the chart: 3,046 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pleasants County, West Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.4% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.8% | 2024 15.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,392 | 2024 $63,468 |
The table uses 4.6% 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 Pleasants County's history
1851
Formed March 29, 1851 from Wood, Ritchie and Tyler counties. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 9,345. The 2020 Census counted 7,653, 82% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1993
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pleasants County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pleasants County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Pleasants County, in West Virginia and Ohio, three score higher. Of the group, Pleasants County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (33.7%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wood County, WV | 58 | 15.5% | 27.8% |
| Ritchie County, WV | 56 | 14.8% | 33.4% |
| Tyler County, WV | 56 | 16.6% | 26.7% |
| Washington County, OH | 47 | 13.8% | 27.1% |
| Pleasants County, WV | 47 | 15.9% | 33.7% |
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 Pleasants County the poorest county in West Virginia?
No, Pleasants County's poverty rate was 15.9% in 2024, 35th 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, Pleasants County ranks 47th of 55 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pleasants 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 Pleasants 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 Pleasants County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.