About one in three adults aged 25 to 54 in Wetzel County, West Virginia, is not working
In Wetzel County, 32.4% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 93% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 55% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wetzel County's score
In Wetzel County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 92.9. Income and the safety net comes next, at 63.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Wetzel 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.
Wetzel County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (3.7%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (64.8, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 92.9 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202692nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working32.4% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
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- 63.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.5% · 202473rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.6% · 202474th percentile
- People with a disability21.6% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
- People without health insurance3.7% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,389 · 202474th percentile
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- 43.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.4% · August 202532nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.8% · August 202529th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.8% · second quarter of 202669th percentile
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- 40.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.1% · August 202564th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people64.8 · 202516th percentile
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- 28.5 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 rent12.7% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.4% · fiscal year 202735th 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 Wetzel 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 Wetzel County, 22.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wetzel County
West Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Wetzel County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 38.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Wetzel County, West Virginia, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 38.9%; 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 Wetzel County getting SNAP food aid rose by more than half to 19.9%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2021 to 2022, reaching 17.8%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Wetzel County, West Virginia.
How Wetzel County has changed
Wetzel County's population had its largest drop, from 21,246 in 1984 to 19,581 in 1989.
Wetzel County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1979 and is down 37% since
High on the chart: 21,998 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Wetzel County, West Virginia.
The number of jobs located in Wetzel County had its largest drop, from 4,850 in 2005 to 4,203 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Wetzel County fell 13% from 1990 to 2020, then turned up in 2025
High on the chart: 4,874 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wetzel County, West Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 11.3% | 2025 6.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.7% | 2024 16.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,085 | 2024 $58,389 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Wetzel County's history
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 23,855. The 2020 Census counted 14,442, 61% of the peak. Census Bureau
1998
A flash flood in June 1998 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
A flash flood in February 2000 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2022
A flash flood in June 2022 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A flash flood in April 2024 did $1.4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wetzel County, 17 of them for flooding. FEMA
Wetzel County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Wetzel County, in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio, four score higher. Of the group, Wetzel County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (38.9%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marshall County, WV | 72 | 17.6% | 27.8% |
| Greene County, PA | 66 | 17.7% | 28.9% |
| Tyler County, WV | 56 | 16.6% | 26.7% |
| Marion County, WV | 56 | 14.7% | 29.2% |
| Wetzel County, WV | 55 | 16.5% | 38.9% |
| Harrison County, WV | 54 | 14.2% | 24.9% |
| Doddridge County, WV | 52 | 19.2% | 23.8% |
| Monroe County, OH | 46 | 13.8% | 35.9% |
| 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 Wetzel County the poorest county in West Virginia?
No, Wetzel County's poverty rate was 16.5% in 2024, 30th 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, Wetzel County ranks 39th of 55 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wetzel 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 Wetzel 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 Wetzel County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.