West Virginia County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 55 counties in West Virginia, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 51.9. 5counties are in Serious or Crisis.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
West Virginia Snapshot
55 Counties Scored
51.9 Mean Score
49.6 Median Score
70.5 Webster County Most Distressed
30.0 Tucker County Least Distressed
5 Serious 22 Elevated 27 Normal 1 Healthy
Zone Distribution West Virginia County Map
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Healthy Normal Elevated Serious Crisis
All 55 West Virginia counties colored by distress zone. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How West Virginia's 55 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All West Virginia Counties
55 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Zone | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 370 | Webster County | 70.5 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 2 | 374 | Boone County | 70.5 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 3 | 483 | Cabell County | 68.2 | Serious | Housing Cost Burden |
| 4 | 539 | Mingo County | 67.1 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 5 | 564 | Clay County | 66.8 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 6 | 668 | Mercer County | 64.6 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 7 | 688 | Logan County | 64.3 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 8 | 704 | Raleigh County | 64.1 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 9 | 743 | Lincoln County | 63.5 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 10 | 773 | McDowell County | 63.0 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 11 | 784 | Fayette County | 62.8 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 12 | 868 | Summers County | 61.3 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 13 | 879 | Randolph County | 61.1 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 14 | 885 | Wayne County | 61.0 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 15 | 918 | Wyoming County | 60.5 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 16 | 921 | Hancock County | 60.5 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 17 | 948 | Kanawha County | 60.1 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 18 | 1,066 | Brooke County | 58.1 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 19 | 1,082 | Lewis County | 57.9 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 20 | 1,087 | Berkeley County | 57.9 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 21 | 1,276 | Ohio County | 54.9 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 22 | 1,286 | Calhoun County | 54.8 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 23 | 1,298 | Greenbrier County | 54.6 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 24 | 1,357 | Upshur County | 53.7 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 25 | 1,413 | Marshall County | 52.8 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 26 | 1,486 | Wood County | 51.5 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 27 | 1,503 | Nicholas County | 51.3 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 28 | 1,600 | Barbour County | 49.6 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 29 | 1,606 | Hardy County | 49.5 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 30 | 1,607 | Monongalia County | 49.5 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 31 | 1,609 | Marion County | 49.4 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 32 | 1,672 | Gilmer County | 48.6 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 33 | 1,684 | Monroe County | 48.5 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 34 | 1,687 | Grant County | 48.4 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 35 | 1,694 | Roane County | 48.3 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 36 | 1,703 | Jackson County | 48.1 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 37 | 1,727 | Preston County | 47.8 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 38 | 1,764 | Braxton County | 47.2 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 39 | 1,785 | Harrison County | 46.9 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 40 | 1,816 | Mason County | 46.4 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 41 | 1,841 | Putnam County | 46.0 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 42 | 1,986 | Doddridge County | 43.5 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 43 | 2,021 | Hampshire County | 42.9 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 44 | 2,107 | Ritchie County | 41.3 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 45 | 2,142 | Taylor County | 40.8 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 46 | 2,154 | Pleasants County | 40.7 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 47 | 2,164 | Wetzel County | 40.5 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 48 | 2,174 | Mineral County | 40.3 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 49 | 2,249 | Pendleton County | 39.1 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 50 | 2,305 | Wirt County | 38.1 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 51 | 2,335 | Tyler County | 37.6 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 52 | 2,378 | Jefferson County | 36.8 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 53 | 2,379 | Morgan County | 36.7 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 54 | 2,420 | Pocahontas County | 36.0 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 55 | 2,756 | Tucker County | 30.0 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
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