About one in five people in Taylor County, West Virginia, has a disability
In Taylor County, 19.4% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 76% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 52% of U.S. counties.
What drives Taylor County's score
In Taylor County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 65.2. About one in four adults aged 25 to 54 (25.1%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a higher share than in 74% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 60.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Taylor 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.
Taylor County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (5.1%, 2020 to 2024) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (12.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 65.2 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202655th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.1% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
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- 60.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.8% · 202474th percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.0% · 202464th percentile
- People with a disability19.4% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
- People without health insurance5.1% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,452 · 202466th percentile
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- 57.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.2% · August 202576th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.5% · August 202540th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.3% · second quarter of 202657th percentile
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- 40.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector24.7% · August 202556th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people79.3 · 202525th percentile
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- 31.3 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 rent12.7% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.9% · fiscal year 202741st 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 Taylor 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 Taylor County, 21.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Taylor County
West Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Taylor County, benefit checks' share of income has risen by more than half since 1969, reaching 26.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Taylor County, West Virginia, benefit checks' share of income rose by more than half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.5%; 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 Taylor County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half to 20.2%, the highest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2019 to 2020, reaching 16.2%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Taylor County, West Virginia.
How Taylor County has changed
Taylor County's population had its largest drop, from 16,512 in 1984 to 15,293 in 1989.
Taylor County's population rose 13% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 17,099 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Taylor County, West Virginia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Taylor County rose by about a fifth to 3,475, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2010 and 2015
High on the chart: 3,475 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Taylor County, West Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.2% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.8% | 2024 16.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,842 | 2024 $61,452 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Taylor County's history
1844
Established January 19, 1844 from Barbour, Harrison, and Marion counties. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 19,919. The 2020 Census counted 16,705, 84% of the peak. Census Bureau
1997
A thunderstorm in August 1997 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
Hail in April 2016 did $3.8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1980
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Taylor County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Taylor County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Taylor County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Taylor County ranks 4th of the six; Barbour County is highest, at 35.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbour County, WV | 70 | 19.3% | 35.2% |
| Marion County, WV | 56 | 14.7% | 29.2% |
| Harrison County, WV | 54 | 14.2% | 24.9% |
| 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 Taylor County the poorest county in West Virginia?
No, Taylor County's poverty rate was 16.8% in 2024, 27th 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, Taylor County ranks 44th of 55 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Taylor 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 Taylor 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 Taylor County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.