Pennsylvania County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 67 counties in Pennsylvania, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 44.9. 2counties are in Serious or Crisis.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
Pennsylvania Snapshot
67 Counties Scored
44.9 Mean Score
44.0 Median Score
73.5 Philadelphia County Most Distressed
27.8 Union County Least Distressed
2 Serious 17 Elevated 37 Normal 11 Healthy
Zone Distribution Pennsylvania County Map
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Healthy Normal Elevated Serious Crisis
All 67 Pennsylvania counties colored by distress zone. 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 | Zone | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 246 | Philadelphia County | 73.5 | Serious | Housing Cost Burden |
| 2 | 479 | Monroe County | 68.2 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 3 | 758 | Fayette County | 63.3 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 4 | 823 | Luzerne County | 62.1 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 5 | 871 | Lehigh County | 61.2 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 6 | 974 | Lackawanna County | 59.7 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 7 | 988 | Pike County | 59.5 | Elevated | Economic Vitality |
| 8 | 993 | Berks County | 59.4 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 9 | 1,139 | Dauphin County | 57.1 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 10 | 1,190 | Carbon County | 56.2 | Elevated | Economic Vitality |
| 11 | 1,257 | Delaware County | 55.2 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 12 | 1,284 | Erie County | 54.8 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 13 | 1,399 | Northampton County | 53.0 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 14 | 1,414 | Lycoming County | 52.8 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 15 | 1,499 | Clinton County | 51.3 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 16 | 1,511 | Schuylkill County | 51.2 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 17 | 1,514 | Lawrence County | 51.1 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 18 | 1,556 | Lebanon County | 50.3 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 19 | 1,564 | Blair County | 50.2 | Elevated | Economic Vitality |
| 20 | 1,617 | Greene County | 49.3 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 21 | 1,660 | Cambria County | 48.8 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 22 | 1,682 | Mercer County | 48.5 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 23 | 1,725 | McKean County | 47.8 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 24 | 1,738 | Indiana County | 47.6 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 25 | 1,741 | Cameron County | 47.6 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 26 | 1,808 | Beaver County | 46.5 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 27 | 1,839 | York County | 46.1 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 28 | 1,840 | Northumberland County | 46.0 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 29 | 1,842 | Columbia County | 46.0 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 30 | 1,872 | Jefferson County | 45.5 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 31 | 1,893 | Crawford County | 45.1 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 32 | 1,900 | Venango County | 44.9 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 33 | 1,912 | Mifflin County | 44.7 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 34 | 1,955 | Tioga County | 44.0 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 35 | 1,961 | Perry County | 43.9 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 36 | 1,962 | Franklin County | 43.9 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 37 | 1,989 | Wayne County | 43.4 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 38 | 1,996 | Clearfield County | 43.4 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 39 | 1,998 | Clarion County | 43.3 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 40 | 2,037 | Lancaster County | 42.5 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 41 | 2,087 | Allegheny County | 41.6 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 42 | 2,150 | Bedford County | 40.7 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 43 | 2,152 | Susquehanna County | 40.7 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 44 | 2,216 | Bradford County | 39.6 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 45 | 2,231 | Centre County | 39.4 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 46 | 2,236 | Wyoming County | 39.3 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 47 | 2,303 | Cumberland County | 38.2 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 48 | 2,309 | Westmoreland County | 38.1 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 49 | 2,313 | Armstrong County | 38.0 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 50 | 2,325 | Huntingdon County | 37.8 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 51 | 2,343 | Adams County | 37.5 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 52 | 2,367 | Warren County | 36.9 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 53 | 2,413 | Washington County | 36.2 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 54 | 2,416 | Snyder County | 36.1 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 55 | 2,424 | Somerset County | 35.9 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 56 | 2,445 | Juniata County | 35.6 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 57 | 2,479 | Potter County | 34.9 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 58 | 2,491 | Bucks County | 34.7 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 59 | 2,578 | Sullivan County | 33.1 | Healthy | Legal Distress |
| 60 | 2,613 | Montgomery County | 32.5 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 61 | 2,659 | Montour County | 31.8 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 62 | 2,690 | Forest County | 31.1 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 63 | 2,700 | Fulton County | 31.0 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 64 | 2,743 | Elk County | 30.4 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 65 | 2,824 | Butler County | 28.5 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 66 | 2,834 | Chester County | 28.3 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 67 | 2,858 | Union County | 27.8 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using PCA-weighted percentile-rank scoring across five statistically derived dimensions: Consumer Credit Distress, Housing Cost Burden, Structural Poverty, Economic Vitality, and Legal Distress. A score of 50 means the county falls at the national median. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.
Crisis (≥80) — Among the most distressed counties in the country
Serious (65–80) — More distressed than roughly 80% of counties
Elevated (50–65) — More distressed than roughly half of counties
Normal (35–50) — Near the national median
Healthy (<35) — Less distressed than most counties