About one in six people with a credit file in Tucker County, West Virginia, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Tucker County, 17.8% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 70% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 62% of U.S. counties.
What drives Tucker County's score
In Tucker County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 71.3. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 17.5. Bankruptcy filings ran at 30.3 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Tucker 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, Tucker County is worse off than most counties on people with a disability (21.2%, 2020 to 2024) and adults 25 to 54 not working (27.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 71.3 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202659th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.4% · 2020 to 202482nd 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 line14.7% · 202462nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.3% · 202445th percentile
- People with a disability21.2% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
- People without health insurance5.3% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,204 · 202480th percentile
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- 38.2 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 rent15.1% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.2% · fiscal year 202744th percentile
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- 25.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.5% · August 202518th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score41.1% · second quarter of 202653rd percentile
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- 17.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.8% · August 202529th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people30.3 · 20255th or lower 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 Tucker 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 Tucker County, 28.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Tucker County
West Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Tucker County had its largest rise, from 17.1% in 1969 to 22.7% in 1974.
In Tucker County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 32.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Tucker County, West Virginia, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Tucker County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 11.2% in 2014 to 13.4% in 2015.
The share of households in Tucker County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2011, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 9.8% 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, Tucker County, West Virginia.
How Tucker County has changed
Tucker County's population had its largest rise, from 7,692 in 1974 to 8,655 in 1979.
Tucker County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1979 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 8,655 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Tucker County, West Virginia.
The number of jobs located in Tucker County fell most sharply on the way to its 2010 low, from 2,796 in 2005 to 2,385 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Tucker County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 3,032 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Tucker County, West Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 12.4% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.9% | 2024 14.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,390 | 2024 $56,204 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 4.3% 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 Tucker County's history
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 18,675. The 2020 Census counted 6,762, 36% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1967
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Tucker County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Tucker County beside its neighbors
All four counties that border Tucker County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Tucker County ranks 4th of the five; Randolph County is highest, at 36.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Randolph County, WV | 77 | 17.3% | 36.8% |
| Barbour County, WV | 70 | 19.3% | 35.2% |
| Preston County, WV | 54 | 15.4% | 30.8% |
| Grant County, WV | 48 | 14.5% | 36.7% |
| Tucker County, WV | 37 | 14.7% | 32.8% |
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 Tucker County the poorest county in West Virginia?
No, Tucker County's poverty rate was 14.7% in 2024, 41st 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, Tucker County ranks 51st of 55 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Tucker 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 Tucker 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 Tucker County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.