Pennsylvania County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 67 counties in Pennsylvania, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 46.3. 13counties are in the two most distressed fifths.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
Pennsylvania Snapshot
67 Counties Scored
46.3 Mean Score
46.1 Median Score
79.5 Philadelphia County Most Distressed
20.7 Chester County Least Distressed
4 Most distressed fifth9 Second-most distressed fifth23 Middle fifth22 Second-least distressed fifth9 Least distressed fifth
Quintile Distribution Pennsylvania County Map
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Least distressed fifth Second-least distressed fifth Middle fifth Second-most distressed fifth Most distressed fifth
All 67 Pennsylvania counties colored by distress fifth. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How Pennsylvania's 67 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Pennsylvania Counties
67 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Distress Fifth | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 157 | Philadelphia County | 79.5 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 2 | 353 | Fayette County | 72.6 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 3 | 441 | Monroe County | 70.5 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 4 | 577 | Luzerne County | 68.0 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 5 | 790 | Pike County | 64.0 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 6 | 916 | Lackawanna County | 61.8 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 7 | 941 | Lehigh County | 61.3 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 8 | 943 | Carbon County | 61.2 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 9 | 1,089 | Greene County | 58.9 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 10 | 1,098 | Cameron County | 58.7 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 11 | 1,158 | Berks County | 57.8 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 12 | 1,168 | Dauphin County | 57.6 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 13 | 1,216 | Erie County | 56.8 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 14 | 1,285 | Cambria County | 55.6 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 15 | 1,384 | Schuylkill County | 53.9 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 16 | 1,405 | Delaware County | 53.5 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 17 | 1,417 | Lawrence County | 53.4 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 18 | 1,426 | McKean County | 53.2 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 19 | 1,482 | Mercer County | 52.0 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 20 | 1,498 | Venango County | 51.7 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 21 | 1,572 | Northampton County | 50.5 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 22 | 1,581 | Lycoming County | 50.4 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 23 | 1,601 | Jefferson County | 50.0 | Middle fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 24 | 1,617 | Clinton County | 49.6 | Middle fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 25 | 1,624 | Columbia County | 49.5 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 26 | 1,634 | Beaver County | 49.3 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 27 | 1,646 | Northumberland County | 49.2 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 28 | 1,656 | Blair County | 49.1 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 29 | 1,694 | Indiana County | 48.3 | Middle fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 30 | 1,722 | Forest County | 47.9 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 31 | 1,784 | Tioga County | 46.8 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 32 | 1,814 | Wayne County | 46.3 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 33 | 1,817 | Potter County | 46.2 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 34 | 1,828 | Clearfield County | 46.1 | Middle fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 35 | 1,830 | Crawford County | 46.0 | Middle fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 36 | 1,845 | Clarion County | 45.8 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 37 | 1,980 | Susquehanna County | 43.5 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 38 | 1,993 | Allegheny County | 43.2 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 39 | 1,998 | Lebanon County | 43.2 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 40 | 2,002 | York County | 43.1 | Second-least distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 41 | 2,019 | Bradford County | 42.8 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 42 | 2,051 | Wyoming County | 42.3 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 43 | 2,056 | Warren County | 42.2 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 44 | 2,073 | Armstrong County | 41.8 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 45 | 2,096 | Westmoreland County | 41.4 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 46 | 2,097 | Somerset County | 41.4 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 47 | 2,124 | Bedford County | 40.7 | Second-least distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 48 | 2,126 | Washington County | 40.6 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 49 | 2,129 | Franklin County | 40.6 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 50 | 2,159 | Mifflin County | 40.2 | Second-least distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 51 | 2,200 | Huntingdon County | 39.5 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 52 | 2,221 | Perry County | 39.1 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 53 | 2,370 | Juniata County | 36.0 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 54 | 2,376 | Fulton County | 35.9 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 55 | 2,410 | Sullivan County | 35.1 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 56 | 2,447 | Lancaster County | 34.4 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 57 | 2,463 | Elk County | 34.0 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 58 | 2,475 | Adams County | 33.6 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 59 | 2,518 | Cumberland County | 32.5 | Least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 60 | 2,598 | Centre County | 31.0 | Least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 61 | 2,608 | Bucks County | 30.9 | Least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 62 | 2,680 | Snyder County | 29.0 | Least distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 63 | 2,705 | Montour County | 28.3 | Least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 64 | 2,730 | Montgomery County | 27.7 | Least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 65 | 2,746 | Butler County | 27.2 | Least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 66 | 2,834 | Union County | 24.7 | Least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 67 | 2,964 | Chester County | 20.7 | Least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
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 — 4 Pennsylvania counties
Second-most distressed fifth — 9 Pennsylvania counties
Middle fifth — 23 Pennsylvania counties
Second-least distressed fifth — 22 Pennsylvania counties
Least distressed fifth — 9 Pennsylvania counties