Financial distress, county by county.

Petersburg City scores 92.8 on the County Distress Index — 2nd most distressed county in the U.S., 1st in Virginia. 45% debt in collections, a Default & Legal domain ranked 3rd in the nation. The 47-point gap with neighboring Chesterfield reveals what Virginia's independent city structure concentrates.

Washington County, MS scores 92.0 on the County Distress Index — 5th of 3,144 U.S. counties, 3rd in Mississippi. 20% auto loan delinquency at the 99th percentile nationally, the Delinquency domain ranked 3rd in the nation. 36% poverty rate. The county seat, Greenville, was home to Pulitzer-winning editor Hodding Carter II, Civil War historian Shelby Foote, and novelist Walker Percy. Today nearly half its children live in poverty.

Pemiscot County lands in the most distressed fifth of U.S. counties. Twelfth most distressed in America, first in Missouri. 46% of residents have debt in collections.

Tunica County, MS sits in the most distressed fifth of U.S. counties — 10th of 3,144, 5th in Mississippi. Four casino closures since 2014 have left the county carrying the debt, with its Delinquency, Debt Burden, and Default & Legal domains all pressed against the ceiling.

Dougherty County, Georgia ranks 14th of 3,144 on the County Distress Index, 2nd in Georgia, with three credit indicators at the 99th percentile.

Gadsden County lands in the most distressed fifth of U.S. counties — 15th most distressed in America, 1st in Florida. Only majority-Black county in the state. 41% of residents carry debt in collections.

Bibb County (Macon-Bibb), GA sits in the most distressed fifth of U.S. counties — 32nd of 3,144, 3rd in Georgia. Renter cost burden at the 98th percentile and debt in collections at the 99th despite a 2014 city-county merger.

Richmond County, GA sits in the most distressed fifth of U.S. counties — 4th of 159 in Georgia. Debt in collections at the 98th percentile, auto loan delinquency at the 98th. Home to Fort Eisenhower and Augusta National, one county line from $95,592 median income.

Harlan County, KY sits in the most distressed fifth of U.S. counties — 57th of 3,144, 7th in Kentucky. The most documented poor county in America. 27.3% disability rate at the 98th percentile, poverty and transfer-income at the 98th and 99th. See the full five-domain breakdown.

Dunklin County, MO scores 82.26 — the most distressed fifth, 91st of 3,144 U.S. counties, 3rd in Missouri. A legacy cotton and soybean economy in the Missouri Bootheel.

Wayne County, MO sits in the most distressed fifth of U.S. counties — 100th of 3,144, 4th in Missouri. Its Safety Net & Buffer domain ranks 58th in the nation, with disability, transfer-income, and income all at the 95th percentile. 29.1% disability rate, 22.4% poverty, every domain distressed at once.

Mitchell County, GA sits in the most distressed fifth of U.S. counties — 106th of 3,144, 11th in Georgia. Top peanut producer with $370M in farm output and 3.6% unemployment, yet its Default & Legal domain ranks 12th in the nation. Full employment, crisis-level debt.

Russell County, AL sits in the most distressed fifth of U.S. counties — 204th of 3,144, 9th in Alabama — and its Default & Legal domain ranks 4th in the nation. 484 bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents, roughly four times the national median. 45% of residents with a credit file carry debt in collections. Phenix City sits across the Chattahoochee River from Columbus, Georgia, where most of the county's working population commutes.

Glades County, Florida sits in the most distressed fifth on the County Distress Index — more distressed than 90% of U.S. counties, 314th of 3,144. The largest employer is a detention center. There is no hospital. See the full five-domain breakdown.

Duval County, TX lands in the most distressed fifth of U.S. counties — 360th of 3,144, 30th in Texas. The county that changed American history with 87 votes. 45.8% of income from transfers, a Safety Net & Buffer domain ranked 3rd in the nation. See the full five-domain breakdown.

Lenoir County lands in the most distressed fifth of U.S. counties — 22nd most distressed in North Carolina. A Navy aviation facility and 3.5% unemployment exist five miles from the state’s most distressed census tract.

Yakima County scores 68.2 on the County Distress Index. Most distressed in Washington. Its Labor domain leads at 96.33 while the safety net holds debt near zero.

Quay County, New Mexico lands in the second-most distressed fifth of U.S. counties — more distressed than 74% of them, 16th in New Mexico. A town named for waiting, still waiting. See the full five-domain breakdown.

DC lands in the second-most distressed fifth of U.S. counties and leads the nation in FHA serious delinquency at 8.34%. Its Debt Burden domain at 76.42 sits 16 points above the composite. See the full five-domain breakdown.

Lincoln County, Montana scores 55.57 on the County Distress Index — the middle fifth, 7th in Montana — masking a Labor domain at 95.83 and a Safety Net & Buffer domain at 75.34 against a Delinquency domain near the floor at 10.67. A vermiculite mine left a multi-decade asbestos health legacy; the clinic that tracked cases has closed.

Des Moines County, Iowa scores 53.02 on the County Distress Index — the middle fifth, 2nd in Iowa, 1,441st nationally. Burlington made backhoes for 87 years. The factory is closing. See the full breakdown.

Wallowa County, OR sits in the middle fifth of U.S. counties — 1,652nd of 3,144, 29th of 36 in Oregon. Unemployment at the 95th percentile, debt in collections at the 7th. A county that learned not to borrow. Home of the WWII Memorial’s bronze.

King County, Washington lands in the second-least distressed fifth of U.S. counties — less distressed than 69% of them, 35th of 39 in Washington. But its Debt Burden domain scores 74.52. See the full five-domain breakdown.

Los Alamos County scores 5.64 on the County Distress Index — the single least distressed of 3,144 U.S. counties, last of 33 in New Mexico. A $5.28 billion federal laboratory in a state ranked last for child wellbeing.