Florida County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 67 counties in Florida, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 69.3. 56counties are in the two most distressed fifths.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
Florida Snapshot
67 Counties Scored
69.3 Mean Score
71.1 Median Score
90.1 Gadsden County Most Distressed
41.7 St. Johns County Least Distressed
42 Most distressed fifth14 Second-most distressed fifth10 Middle fifth1 Second-least distressed fifth
Quintile Distribution Florida County Map
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Least distressed fifth Second-least distressed fifth Middle fifth Second-most distressed fifth Most distressed fifth
All 67 Florida counties colored by distress fifth. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How Florida's 67 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Florida Counties
67 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Distress Fifth | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 | Gadsden County | 90.1 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 2 | 37 | Hamilton County | 85.8 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 3 | 96 | Highlands County | 81.9 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 4 | 105 | Polk County | 81.4 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 5 | 117 | Liberty County | 81.0 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 6 | 138 | Jackson County | 80.1 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 7 | 140 | Bradford County | 79.9 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 8 | 148 | Osceola County | 79.7 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 9 | 154 | Hendry County | 79.5 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 10 | 155 | Hardee County | 79.5 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 11 | 158 | Putnam County | 79.4 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 12 | 162 | DeSoto County | 79.2 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 13 | 175 | Marion County | 78.5 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 14 | 182 | Duval County | 78.4 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 15 | 187 | Calhoun County | 78.2 | Most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 16 | 192 | Dixie County | 78.0 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 17 | 199 | Columbia County | 77.6 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 18 | 205 | Okeechobee County | 77.2 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 19 | 210 | Suwannee County | 77.0 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 20 | 228 | Hernando County | 76.4 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 21 | 246 | Madison County | 75.7 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 22 | 250 | Lafayette County | 75.6 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 23 | 263 | St. Lucie County | 75.2 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 24 | 272 | Escambia County | 75.0 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 25 | 275 | Citrus County | 74.8 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 26 | 290 | Volusia County | 74.5 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 27 | 300 | Taylor County | 74.3 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 28 | 314 | Glades County | 73.7 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 29 | 331 | Levy County | 73.3 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 30 | 338 | Orange County | 73.0 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 31 | 361 | Hillsborough County | 72.5 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 32 | 364 | Union County | 72.5 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 33 | 411 | Holmes County | 71.3 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 34 | 418 | Broward County | 71.1 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 35 | 439 | Jefferson County | 70.6 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 36 | 469 | Washington County | 70.0 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 37 | 470 | Pasco County | 70.0 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 38 | 472 | Baker County | 70.0 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 39 | 510 | Leon County | 69.2 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 40 | 528 | Lee County | 68.7 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 41 | 569 | Lake County | 68.1 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 42 | 589 | Gilchrist County | 67.9 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 43 | 669 | Flagler County | 66.2 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 44 | 671 | Clay County | 66.1 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 45 | 690 | Miami-Dade County | 65.8 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 46 | 701 | Alachua County | 65.6 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 47 | 745 | Bay County | 64.8 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 48 | 761 | Franklin County | 64.4 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 49 | 769 | Brevard County | 64.3 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 50 | 782 | Gulf County | 64.1 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 51 | 852 | Pinellas County | 62.9 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 52 | 860 | Seminole County | 62.8 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 53 | 881 | Charlotte County | 62.4 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 54 | 893 | Palm Beach County | 62.2 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 55 | 996 | Indian River County | 60.5 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 56 | 1,003 | Manatee County | 60.3 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 57 | 1,315 | Wakulla County | 55.0 | Middle fifth | Default & Legal |
| 58 | 1,337 | Okaloosa County | 54.6 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 59 | 1,369 | Sarasota County | 54.2 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 60 | 1,457 | Collier County | 52.5 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 61 | 1,483 | Walton County | 52.0 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 62 | 1,518 | Nassau County | 51.5 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 63 | 1,544 | Monroe County | 51.1 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 64 | 1,546 | Martin County | 51.1 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 65 | 1,588 | Santa Rosa County | 50.1 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 66 | 1,704 | Sumter County | 48.1 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 67 | 2,085 | St. Johns County | 41.7 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using five equal-weighted domains. Each domain averages its member indicators' county ranks, and the composite is the mean of those domain scores. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.
Most distressed fifth — 42 Florida counties
Second-most distressed fifth — 14 Florida counties
Middle fifth — 10 Florida counties
Second-least distressed fifth — 1 Florida county
Least distressed fifth — 0 Florida counties