West Virginia County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 55 counties in West Virginia, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 58.8. 31counties are in the two most distressed fifths.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
West Virginia Snapshot
55 Counties Scored
58.8 Mean Score
58.4 Median Score
81.2 Webster County Most Distressed
32.2 Jefferson County Least Distressed
16 Most distressed fifth15 Second-most distressed fifth18 Middle fifth5 Second-least distressed fifth1 Least distressed fifth
Quintile Distribution West Virginia County Map
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Least distressed fifth Second-least distressed fifth Middle fifth Second-most distressed fifth Most distressed fifth
All 55 West Virginia counties colored by distress fifth. 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 | Distress Fifth | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 107 | Webster County | 81.2 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 2 | 112 | Mingo County | 81.2 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 3 | 184 | Boone County | 78.3 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 4 | 193 | McDowell County | 77.9 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 5 | 202 | Clay County | 77.4 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 6 | 312 | Logan County | 73.8 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 7 | 359 | Wyoming County | 72.5 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 8 | 395 | Lincoln County | 71.7 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 9 | 504 | Summers County | 69.2 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 10 | 507 | Wayne County | 69.2 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 11 | 524 | Calhoun County | 68.8 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 12 | 529 | Raleigh County | 68.7 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 13 | 535 | Fayette County | 68.6 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 14 | 549 | Mercer County | 68.4 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 15 | 563 | Cabell County | 68.2 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 16 | 575 | Randolph County | 68.1 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 17 | 736 | Hancock County | 64.9 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 18 | 821 | Nicholas County | 63.5 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 19 | 825 | Lewis County | 63.3 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 20 | 864 | Marshall County | 62.7 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 21 | 878 | Kanawha County | 62.4 | Second-most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 22 | 898 | Brooke County | 62.2 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 23 | 972 | Upshur County | 60.7 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 24 | 1,020 | Barbour County | 60.0 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 25 | 1,024 | Jackson County | 59.9 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 26 | 1,044 | Greenbrier County | 59.6 | Second-most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 27 | 1,106 | Wood County | 58.6 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 28 | 1,124 | Roane County | 58.4 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 29 | 1,144 | Ohio County | 58.0 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 30 | 1,195 | Monroe County | 57.2 | Second-most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 31 | 1,239 | Preston County | 56.4 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 32 | 1,284 | Ritchie County | 55.6 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 33 | 1,321 | Pocahontas County | 54.9 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 34 | 1,349 | Wetzel County | 54.4 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 35 | 1,418 | Braxton County | 53.4 | Middle fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 36 | 1,422 | Gilmer County | 53.3 | Middle fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 37 | 1,434 | Marion County | 53.1 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 38 | 1,497 | Berkeley County | 51.7 | Middle fifth | Delinquency |
| 39 | 1,511 | Grant County | 51.5 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 40 | 1,515 | Wirt County | 51.5 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 41 | 1,529 | Hardy County | 51.4 | Middle fifth | Delinquency |
| 42 | 1,551 | Hampshire County | 51.0 | Middle fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 43 | 1,559 | Mason County | 50.7 | Middle fifth | Delinquency |
| 44 | 1,567 | Tyler County | 50.6 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 45 | 1,590 | Harrison County | 50.1 | Middle fifth | Delinquency |
| 46 | 1,703 | Taylor County | 48.1 | Middle fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 47 | 1,724 | Mineral County | 47.8 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 48 | 1,732 | Doddridge County | 47.8 | Middle fifth | Delinquency |
| 49 | 1,846 | Pleasants County | 45.8 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 50 | 1,889 | Monongalia County | 45.0 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 51 | 2,033 | Putnam County | 42.5 | Second-least distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 52 | 2,138 | Pendleton County | 40.5 | Second-least distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 53 | 2,232 | Tucker County | 38.8 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 54 | 2,237 | Morgan County | 38.7 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 55 | 2,538 | Jefferson County | 32.2 | 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 — 16 West Virginia counties
Second-most distressed fifth — 15 West Virginia counties
Middle fifth — 18 West Virginia counties
Second-least distressed fifth — 5 West Virginia counties
Least distressed fifth — 1 West Virginia county