The most distressed counties in America
All 3,144 U.S. counties ranked by the County Distress Index — a composite score built from 21 indicators across five domains: consumer credit distress, housing cost burden, structural poverty, economic vitality, and legal distress. Higher scores mean more household financial distress.
| Rank | County | State | Score | Zone | Population | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richmond County | GA | 89.1 | Crisis | 205,414 | Scorecard PDF |
| 2 | Tunica County | MS | 88.6 | Crisis | 9,234 | Scorecard PDF |
| 3 | Bibb County | GA | 88.5 | Crisis | 156,512 | Scorecard PDF |
| 4 | Petersburg city | VA | 88.4 | Crisis | 33,309 | Scorecard PDF |
| 5 | Clayton County | GA | 87.8 | Crisis | 298,300 | Scorecard PDF |
| 6 | Mitchell County | GA | 87.4 | Crisis | 21,114 | Scorecard PDF |
| 7 | Pemiscot County | MO | 87.2 | Crisis | 14,613 | Scorecard PDF |
| 8 | Dougherty County | GA | 87.1 | Crisis | 82,645 | Scorecard PDF |
| 9 | Russell County | AL | 86.6 | Crisis | 58,744 | Scorecard PDF |
| 10 | Washington County | MS | 86.1 | Crisis | 41,946 | Scorecard PDF |
| 11 | Hopewell city | VA | 86.1 | Crisis | 22,752 | Scorecard PDF |
| 12 | Crittenden County | AR | 85.9 | Crisis | 47,139 | Scorecard PDF |
| 13 | Coahoma County | MS | 85.7 | Crisis | 20,077 | Scorecard PDF |
| 14 | Hancock County | GA | 85.7 | Crisis | 8,676 | Scorecard PDF |
| 15 | Phillips County | AR | 85.5 | Crisis | 14,961 | Scorecard PDF |
| 16 | Baldwin County | GA | 85.1 | Crisis | 43,396 | Scorecard PDF |
| 17 | Yazoo County | MS | 85.1 | Crisis | 25,796 | Scorecard PDF |
| 18 | Spalding County | GA | 84.9 | Crisis | 69,946 | Scorecard PDF |
| 19 | Bolivar County | MS | 84.7 | Crisis | 28,968 | Scorecard PDF |
| 20 | Dallas County | AL | 84.7 | Crisis | 36,165 | Scorecard PDF |
| 21 | Leflore County | MS | 84.6 | Crisis | 26,378 | Scorecard PDF |
| 22 | Randolph County | GA | 84.6 | Crisis | 6,078 | Scorecard PDF |
| 23 | Gadsden County | FL | 84.5 | Crisis | 43,833 | Scorecard PDF |
| 24 | Rockdale County | GA | 84.2 | Crisis | 95,987 | Scorecard PDF |
| 25 | Lee County | AR | 83.7 | Crisis | 8,201 | Scorecard PDF |
| 26 | Hinds County | MS | 83.6 | Crisis | 214,870 | Scorecard PDF |
| 27 | St. Francis County | AR | 83.3 | Crisis | 22,101 | Scorecard PDF |
| 28 | Noxubee County | MS | 83.3 | Crisis | 9,914 | Scorecard PDF |
| 29 | Ware County | GA | 83.2 | Crisis | 36,243 | Scorecard PDF |
| 30 | East Carroll Parish | LA | 82.9 | Crisis | 6,829 | Scorecard PDF |
| 31 | Crisp County | GA | 82.9 | Crisis | 19,631 | Scorecard PDF |
| 32 | Hertford County | NC | 82.8 | Crisis | 19,453 | Scorecard PDF |
| 33 | Holmes County | MS | 82.7 | Crisis | 15,777 | Scorecard PDF |
| 34 | Edgecombe County | NC | 82.7 | Crisis | 48,832 | Scorecard PDF |
| 35 | Bullock County | AL | 82.6 | Crisis | 9,897 | Scorecard PDF |
| 36 | Caddo Parish | LA | 82.6 | Crisis | 226,386 | Scorecard PDF |
| 37 | Newton County | GA | 82.4 | Crisis | 120,135 | Scorecard PDF |
| 38 | Charlton County | GA | 82.4 | Crisis | 12,934 | Scorecard PDF |
| 39 | Troup County | GA | 82.3 | Crisis | 70,742 | Scorecard PDF |
| 40 | Vance County | NC | 82.2 | Crisis | 42,301 | Scorecard PDF |
| 41 | Morehouse Parish | LA | 82.1 | Crisis | 23,955 | Scorecard PDF |
| 42 | Muscogee County | GA | 82.0 | Crisis | 201,877 | Scorecard PDF |
| 43 | Baltimore city | MD | 82.0 | Crisis | 565,239 | Scorecard PDF |
| 44 | Mississippi County | MO | 81.9 | Crisis | 11,822 | Scorecard PDF |
| 45 | Portsmouth city | VA | 81.8 | Crisis | 96,793 | Scorecard PDF |
| 46 | Halifax County | NC | 81.7 | Crisis | 47,298 | Scorecard PDF |
| 47 | Wilkinson County | MS | 81.4 | Crisis | 8,058 | Scorecard PDF |
| 48 | McDuffie County | GA | 81.4 | Crisis | 21,799 | Scorecard PDF |
| 49 | Shelby County | TN | 81.2 | Crisis | 910,042 | Scorecard PDF |
| 50 | Williamsburg County | SC | 81.1 | Crisis | 29,891 | Scorecard PDF |
| 51 | Scotland County | NC | 81.1 | Crisis | 34,376 | Scorecard PDF |
| 52 | Jim Wells County | TX | 80.9 | Crisis | 38,662 | Scorecard PDF |
| 53 | Brooks County | GA | 80.9 | Crisis | 16,245 | Scorecard PDF |
| 54 | Cook County | GA | 80.5 | Crisis | 17,714 | Scorecard PDF |
| 55 | Grady County | GA | 80.4 | Crisis | 26,066 | Scorecard PDF |
| 56 | St. Bernard Parish | LA | 80.4 | Crisis | 44,463 | Scorecard PDF |
| 57 | Webster Parish | LA | 80.3 | Crisis | 35,238 | Scorecard PDF |
| 58 | Starr County | TX | 80.3 | Crisis | 65,934 | Scorecard PDF |
| 59 | Concordia Parish | LA | 80.2 | Crisis | 17,688 | Scorecard PDF |
| 60 | Polk County | GA | 80.1 | Crisis | 44,223 | Scorecard PDF |
| 61 | Bell County | KY | 79.9 | Serious | 23,317 | Scorecard PDF |
| 62 | Sumter County | GA | 79.9 | Serious | 28,890 | Scorecard PDF |
| 63 | Taylor County | GA | 79.8 | Serious | 7,758 | Scorecard PDF |
| 64 | Fulton County | KY | 79.8 | Serious | 6,338 | Scorecard PDF |
| 65 | Bee County | TX | 79.8 | Serious | 30,850 | Scorecard PDF |
| 66 | Bamberg County | SC | 79.8 | Serious | 12,974 | Scorecard PDF |
| 67 | Desha County | AR | 79.8 | Serious | 10,479 | Scorecard PDF |
| 68 | Robeson County | NC | 79.7 | Serious | 117,365 | Scorecard PDF |
| 69 | Bronx County | NY | 79.7 | Serious | 1,356,476 | Scorecard PDF |
| 70 | Haywood County | TN | 79.6 | Serious | 17,328 | Scorecard PDF |
| 71 | Humphreys County | MS | 79.6 | Serious | 7,216 | Scorecard PDF |
| 72 | Marshall County | MS | 79.6 | Serious | 34,123 | Scorecard PDF |
| 73 | Lowndes County | GA | 79.5 | Serious | 120,712 | Scorecard PDF |
| 74 | Upson County | GA | 79.5 | Serious | 28,263 | Scorecard PDF |
| 75 | Sharkey County | MS | 79.4 | Serious | 3,336 | Scorecard PDF |
| 76 | Dunklin County | MO | 79.4 | Serious | 27,032 | Scorecard PDF |
| 77 | Miller County | AR | 79.3 | Serious | 42,415 | Scorecard PDF |
| 78 | Lauderdale County | TN | 79.2 | Serious | 24,610 | Scorecard PDF |
| 79 | Montgomery County | MS | 79.2 | Serious | 9,600 | Scorecard PDF |
| 80 | Hidalgo County | TX | 79.2 | Serious | 898,471 | Scorecard PDF |
| 81 | Osceola County | FL | 79.0 | Serious | 437,784 | Scorecard PDF |
| 82 | Washington County | GA | 79.0 | Serious | 19,820 | Scorecard PDF |
| 83 | Polk County | FL | 78.9 | Serious | 818,330 | Scorecard PDF |
| 84 | Chatham County | GA | 78.9 | Serious | 303,655 | Scorecard PDF |
| 85 | Panola County | MS | 78.9 | Serious | 32,669 | Scorecard PDF |
| 86 | Liberty County | GA | 78.8 | Serious | 69,210 | Scorecard PDF |
| 87 | Cumberland County | NJ | 78.8 | Serious | 152,326 | Scorecard PDF |
| 88 | Sunflower County | MS | 78.7 | Serious | 24,468 | Scorecard PDF |
| 89 | Orangeburg County | SC | 78.7 | Serious | 82,820 | Scorecard PDF |
| 90 | Lanier County | GA | 78.6 | Serious | 10,452 | Scorecard PDF |
| 91 | Kleberg County | TX | 78.6 | Serious | 30,069 | Scorecard PDF |
| 92 | Catahoula Parish | LA | 78.6 | Serious | 8,414 | Scorecard PDF |
| 93 | Pike County | AL | 78.5 | Serious | 33,137 | Scorecard PDF |
| 94 | Decatur County | GA | 78.5 | Serious | 29,087 | Scorecard PDF |
| 95 | Hardee County | FL | 78.4 | Serious | 25,760 | Scorecard PDF |
| 96 | Webb County | TX | 78.3 | Serious | 269,148 | Scorecard PDF |
| 97 | Cameron County | TX | 78.3 | Serious | 426,710 | Scorecard PDF |
| 98 | Burke County | GA | 78.2 | Serious | 24,438 | Scorecard PDF |
| 99 | Orleans Parish | LA | 78.2 | Serious | 364,136 | Scorecard PDF |
| 100 | Henry County | GA | 78.1 | Serious | 254,613 | Scorecard PDF |
How the ranking is built
The County Distress Index scores all 3,144 U.S. counties on a 0 to 100 scale using 21 indicators grouped into five statistically derived domains. Consumer Credit Distress carries 47.5% of the composite weight, Housing Cost Burden 22.3%, Structural Poverty 13.6%, Economic Vitality 9.2%, and Legal Distress 7.4%. Weights come from principal component analysis that explains 70.6% of the variance across all counties. Each indicator is percentile-ranked against every other county in the United States, then averaged within its domain, then weighted into the composite.
Source data: the Urban Institute Debt in America dataset, U.S. Census Bureau SAIPE and ACS, Bureau of Labor Statistics LAUS and QCEW, U.S. Courts bankruptcy statistics, and HUD Fair Market Rents. A score of 50 sits at the national median. Scores of 80 or higher mark the Crisis zone — counties where household financial distress exceeds roughly 90% of the country.
For journalists and researchers
The ranking is free to cite and redistribute with attribution. Every county row links to a detailed scorecard with domain breakdowns, distinctive signals, and a one-page PDF. A machine-readable Dataset schema is embedded in this page for LLM ingestion.
Frequently asked questions
Which county is the most distressed in America?
As of the most recent CDI release, Richmond County, Georgia ranks first with a composite score of 89.1 on the 0 to 100 scale. The ranking is recomputed annually as new Census ACS and Urban Institute Debt in America data become available.
How often is the ranking updated?
The County Distress Index refreshes annually, aligned to the Census American Community Survey release window and the Urban Institute Debt in America update. The current release compiled on April 21, 2026. Individual indicator time series on the indicator pages update more frequently — monthly for employment, quarterly for NY Fed consumer credit data.
Why 21 indicators across five domains?
Principal component analysis across every county-level financial-distress indicator we could source identified five statistically independent factors. The 21 indicators are the highest-signal items that load on those factors. Adding more indicators did not explain additional variance. Full technical detail: /methodology/cdi/.
Can I download the full ranking?
Yes. Every county scorecard links to a one-page PDF. The machine-readable Dataset schema on this page is freely ingestible by LLMs and research tools. For bulk academic or policy use, contact us via the press page.
Is this the same as the American Distress Index?
No. The American Distress Index (ADI) tracks national household distress over time using quarterly time-series data. The CDI is cross-sectional — it compares counties at a single point in time. Both use a 0 to 100 scale with the same zone thresholds, but they measure different things.