About two in five adults aged 25 to 54 in Wirt County, West Virginia, are not working
In Wirt County, 38.5% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 59% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wirt County's score
In Wirt County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 94.7. Income and the safety net comes next, at 69.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Wirt 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.
Wirt County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a credit card behind (2.0%, August 2025) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (40, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 94.7 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202694th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working38.5% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 69.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.6% · 202473rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.5% · 202474th percentile
- People with a disability18.8% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
- People without health insurance6.9% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$55,031 · 202482nd percentile
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- 45.4 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 rent15.6% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.2% · fiscal year 202755th percentile
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- 39.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.2% · August 202550th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.8% · second quarter of 202663rd percentile
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- 31.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector24.7% · August 202555th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people40 · 20255th 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 Wirt 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 Wirt County, 23.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wirt County
West Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Wirt County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 37.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a third more than benefit checks
In Wirt County, West Virginia, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 37.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Wirt County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 26.0% in 2022 to 20.9% in 2023.
The share of households in Wirt County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2021 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 17.3% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Wirt County, West Virginia.
How Wirt County has changed
Wirt County's population had its largest rise, from 4,404 in 1974 to 4,876 in 1979.
Wirt County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 16% since
High on the chart: 5,849 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Wirt County, West Virginia.
The number of jobs located in Wirt County had its largest rise in the last span, from 548 in 2020 to 697 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Wirt County fell to its lowest on the chart in 2020, then climbed past the 1990 level
Low on the chart: 548 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wirt County, West Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 17.9% | 2025 6.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.4% | 2024 16.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,515 | 2024 $55,031 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Wirt County's history
1848
Created January 19, 1848 from Jackson and Wood counties. Wikipedia
1863
Oil rush Burning Springs 1860s, town burned 1863. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 10,284. The 2020 Census counted 5,194, 51% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1967
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wirt County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Wirt County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Wirt County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Wirt County ranks 3rd of the six; Calhoun County is highest, at 45.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calhoun County, WV | 88 | 22.9% | 45.1% |
| Jackson County, WV | 69 | 17.5% | 31.1% |
| Roane County, WV | 68 | 19.2% | 40.1% |
| Wirt County, WV | 59 | 16.6% | 37.2% |
| Wood County, WV | 58 | 15.5% | 27.8% |
| Ritchie County, WV | 56 | 14.8% | 33.4% |
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 Wirt County the poorest county in West Virginia?
No, Wirt County's poverty rate was 16.6% in 2024, 28th 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, Wirt County ranks 34th of 55 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wirt 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.
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 Wirt County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.