The most distressed counties in America
All 3,144 U.S. counties ranked by the County Distress Index — a composite score built from five equal-weighted domains: delinquency, default and legal, debt burden, labor, and safety net and buffer. Higher scores mean more household financial distress.
| Rank | County | State | Score | Distress Fifth | Population | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Holmes County | MS | 93.1 | Most distressed fifth | 15,777 | Profile |
| 2 | Petersburg city | VA | 92.8 | Most distressed fifth | 33,309 | Profile |
| 3 | Coahoma County | MS | 92.7 | Most distressed fifth | 20,077 | Profile |
| 4 | East Carroll Parish | LA | 92.0 | Most distressed fifth | 6,829 | Profile |
| 5 | Washington County | MS | 92.0 | Most distressed fifth | 41,946 | Profile |
| 6 | Leflore County | MS | 91.9 | Most distressed fifth | 26,378 | Profile |
| 7 | Phillips County | AR | 91.2 | Most distressed fifth | 14,961 | Profile |
| 8 | Williamsburg County | SC | 90.7 | Most distressed fifth | 29,891 | Profile |
| 9 | Hancock County | GA | 90.4 | Most distressed fifth | 8,676 | Profile |
| 10 | Tunica County | MS | 90.4 | Most distressed fifth | 9,234 | Profile |
| 11 | Morehouse Parish | LA | 90.4 | Most distressed fifth | 23,955 | Profile |
| 12 | Pemiscot County | MO | 90.4 | Most distressed fifth | 14,613 | Profile |
| 13 | Noxubee County | MS | 90.3 | Most distressed fifth | 9,914 | Profile |
| 14 | Dougherty County | GA | 90.2 | Most distressed fifth | 82,645 | Profile |
| 15 | Gadsden County | FL | 90.1 | Most distressed fifth | 43,833 | Profile |
| 16 | Wilcox County | AL | 90.0 | Most distressed fifth | 9,944 | Profile |
| 17 | Hopewell city | VA | 90.0 | Most distressed fifth | 22,752 | Profile |
| 18 | Crittenden County | AR | 89.9 | Most distressed fifth | 47,139 | Profile |
| 19 | Dallas County | AL | 89.3 | Most distressed fifth | 36,165 | Profile |
| 20 | Desha County | AR | 89.2 | Most distressed fifth | 10,479 | Profile |
| 21 | Baltimore city | MD | 88.7 | Most distressed fifth | 565,239 | Profile |
| 22 | Yazoo County | MS | 88.7 | Most distressed fifth | 25,796 | Profile |
| 23 | Humphreys County | MS | 88.2 | Most distressed fifth | 7,216 | Profile |
| 24 | Bell County | KY | 87.8 | Most distressed fifth | 23,317 | Profile |
| 25 | Edgecombe County | NC | 87.7 | Most distressed fifth | 48,832 | Profile |
| 26 | Concordia Parish | LA | 87.6 | Most distressed fifth | 17,688 | Profile |
| 27 | Lee County | AR | 87.4 | Most distressed fifth | 8,201 | Profile |
| 28 | Bolivar County | MS | 87.1 | Most distressed fifth | 28,968 | Profile |
| 29 | Madison Parish | LA | 86.9 | Most distressed fifth | 9,246 | Profile |
| 30 | Bronx County | NY | 86.8 | Most distressed fifth | 1,356,476 | Profile |
| 31 | St. Francis County | AR | 86.3 | Most distressed fifth | 22,101 | Profile |
| 32 | Bibb County | GA | 86.1 | Most distressed fifth | 156,512 | Profile |
| 33 | Claiborne Parish | LA | 86.0 | Most distressed fifth | 13,670 | Profile |
| 34 | Chicot County | AR | 85.9 | Most distressed fifth | 9,538 | Profile |
| 35 | Knox County | KY | 85.9 | Most distressed fifth | 29,794 | Profile |
| 36 | Magoffin County | KY | 85.9 | Most distressed fifth | 11,228 | Profile |
| 37 | Hamilton County | FL | 85.9 | Most distressed fifth | 13,471 | Profile |
| 38 | Greene County | AL | 85.8 | Most distressed fifth | 7,341 | Profile |
| 39 | Halifax County | NC | 85.7 | Most distressed fifth | 47,298 | Profile |
| 40 | Wayne County | MI | 85.7 | Most distressed fifth | 1,751,169 | Profile |
| 41 | Portsmouth city | VA | 85.6 | Most distressed fifth | 96,793 | Profile |
| 42 | Richmond County | GA | 85.6 | Most distressed fifth | 205,414 | Profile |
| 43 | Hardeman County | TN | 85.4 | Most distressed fifth | 25,567 | Profile |
| 44 | Clay County | KY | 85.3 | Most distressed fifth | 19,648 | Profile |
| 45 | Martin County | KY | 85.3 | Most distressed fifth | 10,928 | Profile |
| 46 | Starr County | TX | 85.1 | Most distressed fifth | 65,934 | Profile |
| 47 | Danville city | VA | 85.1 | Most distressed fifth | 41,837 | Profile |
| 48 | Wilkinson County | MS | 84.9 | Most distressed fifth | 8,058 | Profile |
| 49 | Marlboro County | SC | 84.7 | Most distressed fifth | 25,704 | Profile |
| 50 | Martinsville city | VA | 84.7 | Most distressed fifth | 13,763 | Profile |
| 51 | Mississippi County | MO | 84.7 | Most distressed fifth | 11,822 | Profile |
| 52 | McCreary County | KY | 84.7 | Most distressed fifth | 17,050 | Profile |
| 53 | Tensas Parish | LA | 84.7 | Most distressed fifth | 3,764 | Profile |
| 54 | Emporia city | VA | 84.6 | Most distressed fifth | 5,463 | Profile |
| 55 | Bamberg County | SC | 84.6 | Most distressed fifth | 12,974 | Profile |
| 56 | Jefferson County | AR | 84.5 | Most distressed fifth | 63,661 | Profile |
| 57 | Harlan County | KY | 84.5 | Most distressed fifth | 25,324 | Profile |
| 58 | Jefferson County | MS | 84.4 | Most distressed fifth | 6,941 | Profile |
| 59 | Natchitoches Parish | LA | 84.3 | Most distressed fifth | 36,291 | Profile |
| 60 | Clayton County | GA | 84.3 | Most distressed fifth | 298,300 | Profile |
| 61 | St. Bernard Parish | LA | 84.2 | Most distressed fifth | 44,463 | Profile |
| 62 | Caddo Parish | LA | 84.1 | Most distressed fifth | 226,386 | Profile |
| 63 | Sharkey County | MS | 84.0 | Most distressed fifth | 3,336 | Profile |
| 64 | Perry County | AL | 84.0 | Most distressed fifth | 7,738 | Profile |
| 65 | Cumberland County | NJ | 84.0 | Most distressed fifth | 152,326 | Profile |
| 66 | Floyd County | KY | 83.9 | Most distressed fifth | 34,423 | Profile |
| 67 | Scotland County | NC | 83.8 | Most distressed fifth | 34,376 | Profile |
| 68 | Claiborne County | MS | 83.7 | Most distressed fifth | 8,617 | Profile |
| 69 | Orangeburg County | SC | 83.7 | Most distressed fifth | 82,820 | Profile |
| 70 | Terrell County | GA | 83.7 | Most distressed fifth | 8,718 | Profile |
| 71 | Pike County | KY | 83.6 | Most distressed fifth | 55,973 | Profile |
| 72 | Webster Parish | LA | 83.6 | Most distressed fifth | 35,238 | Profile |
| 73 | Vance County | NC | 83.5 | Most distressed fifth | 42,301 | Profile |
| 74 | Somerset County | MD | 83.4 | Most distressed fifth | 24,910 | Profile |
| 75 | Fulton County | KY | 83.3 | Most distressed fifth | 6,338 | Profile |
| 76 | Robeson County | NC | 83.3 | Most distressed fifth | 117,365 | Profile |
| 77 | Lee County | SC | 83.1 | Most distressed fifth | 15,967 | Profile |
| 78 | Wayne County | KY | 83.0 | Most distressed fifth | 19,580 | Profile |
| 79 | Bienville Parish | LA | 82.9 | Most distressed fifth | 12,366 | Profile |
| 80 | Menominee County | WI | 82.9 | Most distressed fifth | 4,226 | Profile |
| 81 | Quitman County | MS | 82.8 | Most distressed fifth | 5,546 | Profile |
| 82 | Shelby County | TN | 82.7 | Most distressed fifth | 910,042 | Profile |
| 83 | Sunflower County | MS | 82.7 | Most distressed fifth | 24,468 | Profile |
| 84 | Telfair County | GA | 82.7 | Most distressed fifth | 10,920 | Profile |
| 85 | Fairfield County | SC | 82.6 | Most distressed fifth | 20,422 | Profile |
| 86 | Adams County | MS | 82.5 | Most distressed fifth | 28,746 | Profile |
| 87 | Monroe County | AR | 82.4 | Most distressed fifth | 6,512 | Profile |
| 88 | Greensville County | VA | 82.3 | Most distressed fifth | 11,133 | Profile |
| 89 | Catahoula Parish | LA | 82.3 | Most distressed fifth | 8,414 | Profile |
| 90 | Seminole County | OK | 82.3 | Most distressed fifth | 23,565 | Profile |
| 91 | Dunklin County | MO | 82.3 | Most distressed fifth | 27,032 | Profile |
| 92 | St. Helena Parish | LA | 82.3 | Most distressed fifth | 10,774 | Profile |
| 93 | Burke County | GA | 82.1 | Most distressed fifth | 24,438 | Profile |
| 94 | Christian County | KY | 82.1 | Most distressed fifth | 72,032 | Profile |
| 95 | Pike County | MS | 82.0 | Most distressed fifth | 39,394 | Profile |
| 96 | Highlands County | FL | 81.9 | Most distressed fifth | 107,614 | Profile |
| 97 | Early County | GA | 81.8 | Most distressed fifth | 10,563 | Profile |
| 98 | Bertie County | NC | 81.8 | Most distressed fifth | 16,922 | Profile |
| 99 | Orleans Parish | LA | 81.7 | Most distressed fifth | 364,136 | Profile |
| 100 | Wayne County | MO | 81.7 | Most distressed fifth | 10,811 | Profile |
How the ranking is built
The County Distress Index scores all 3,144 U.S. counties on a 0 to 100 scale using five equal-weighted domains: delinquency, default and legal, debt burden, labor, and safety net and buffer. Each input is ranked against the current county cross-section, then averaged within its domain, then averaged across the five domains.
Source data: the Urban Institute Debt in America dataset, U.S. Census Bureau SAIPE and ACS, Bureau of Labor Statistics LAUS and QCEW, U.S. Courts bankruptcy statistics, and HUD Fair Market Rents. Rank #1 is the most distressed county in the current cross-section; distress fifth labels group counties by rank.
For journalists and researchers
The ranking is free to cite and redistribute with attribution. Every county row links to a detailed county profile with domain breakdowns and source context. A machine-readable Dataset schema is embedded in this page for LLM ingestion.
Frequently asked questions
Which county is the most distressed in America?
As of the most recent CDI release, Holmes County, Mississippi ranks first with a composite score of 93.1 on the 0 to 100 scale. The ranking is recomputed annually as new Census ACS and Urban Institute Debt in America data become available.
How often is the ranking updated?
The County Distress Index refreshes annually, aligned to the Census American Community Survey release window and the Urban Institute Debt in America update. The current release compiled on Jun 14, 2026. Individual indicator time series on the indicator pages update more frequently — monthly for employment, quarterly for NY Fed consumer credit data.
Why five equal-weighted domains?
The CDI method uses one yardstick across geographies: five domains with equal weight, each built from the percentile ranks of its member inputs. That keeps county ranks comparable without fitted weights or retired cutoffs. Full technical detail: /methodology/cdi/.
Can I download the full ranking?
The machine-readable Dataset schema on this page is freely ingestible by LLMs and research tools. For bulk academic or policy use, contact us via the press page.
Is this the same as the American Distress Index?
No. The American Distress Index (ADI) tracks national household distress over time using quarterly time-series data. The CDI is cross-sectional — it compares counties at a single point in time. Both use a 0 to 100 scale, but the national ADI publishes time-axis bands while county pages publish ranks and distress fifths.