John Lettieri, President and CEO of Economic Innovation Group | Official Website
John Lettieri, President and CEO of Economic Innovation Group | Official Website
Among all government transfer programs, Income Maintenance was the smallest contributor in the county. Social Security was the largest contributor, totaling $435.23 million, equating to $4,829 per capita and making up 33% of total transfers.
Comparatively, Income Maintenance transfers across Pennsylvania amounted to $15.69 billion, ranking lowest among all transfer types within the state. This translates to an average of $1,209 per capita, or 9.3% of total government transfers. Including all transfer types, government transfer payments totaled $168.46 billion, accounting for 20.1% of residents’ total income, with an average of $12,986 per resident.
Medicare was the second largest contributor in Northumberland County in 2022, accounting for $359.85 million, averaging $3,992 per capita, representing 27.3% of transfers. Medicaid transfers provided another $308.02 million, averaging $3,417 per capita and comprising 23.3% of government support, making them the third largest contributors.
Government transfer payments are non-repayable funds provided by federal, state, or local governments to support individuals in need. These payments aim to stabilize economic conditions and provide financial support during hardships. Key programs include Social Security transfers (retirement benefits), Medicare transfers (healthcare for seniors), Medicaid transfers (healthcare for low-income individuals), and income maintenance transfers (financial assistance for basic needs).
With 22.3% of the population aged 65 and older, Northumberland County has a significant demand for programs like Social Security and Medicare. Despite this aid, the total per capita income in Northumberland County, excluding government transfers was $33,006, which is far below the county's total income of $47,650, emphasizing the role of government transfers in overall income.
When comparing 2022 to the previous year, Northumberland County saw a decrease in its Income Maintenance transfer dependency by 0.2%.
Government transfers have long been a modest financial safety net, historically comprising only a small fraction of Americans' income. However, since the 1970s—sometimes dubbed the “Great Transfer-mation”—dependency has surged from 8.2% (or $2,022 per capita in inflation-adjusted 2022 dollars) in 1970 to 17.6% (or $11,542 per capita) in 2022 nationwide. In Northumberland County, reliance on government transfers has similarly increased from 13.7% (or $2,813 per capita) in 1970 to 30.7% (or $14,644 per capita) in 2022, reflecting broader national trends.
According to the Economic Innovation Group’s analysis, these trends are not merely short-term responses to economic pressures but rather reflect a profound, long-term transformation in how government support is integrated into American life. The study illustrates that structural shifts—from rising healthcare expenses and demographic changes to stagnant wages—have significantly increased dependency on government transfers.
| County | Rank | Dependency on Transfers (%) | % Population 65+ | Social Security Transfers (%) | Medicare Transfers (%) | Medicaid Transfers (%) | Income Maintenance Transfers (%) | Per Capita Transfers ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia County | 1 | 28.3% | 14.7% | 4.9% | 5.1% | 12.3% | 4.5% | $16,072 |
| Allegheny County | 2 | 17.3% | 20.2% | 6.2% | 4.1% | 4.3% | 1.5% | $12,236 |
| Montgomery County | 3 | 11.9% | 18.8% | 4.7% | 3.3% | 2.4% | 0.6% | $11,142 |
| Bucks County | 4 | 13.6% | 20.6% | 5.6% | 3.9% | 2.4% | 0.7% | $11,805 |
| Delaware County | 5 | 16.4% | 17.4% | 5.2% | 3.9% | 4.8% | 1.4% | $12,830 |
| Lancaster County | 6 | 17.4% | 19.7% | 6.8% | 4.3% | 3.6% | 1.4% | $10,980 |
| York County | 7 | 20.6% | 18.8% | 7.6% | 5.5% | 4.1% | 1.8% | $11,831 |
| Chester County | 8 | 9.7% | 17.7% | 4.1% | 2.6% | 1.7% | 0.5% | $9,806 |
| Berks County | 9 | 21.2% | 18% | 7.1% | 5.4% | 5.1% | 2.1% | $12,311 |
| Westmoreland County | 10 | 23.8% | 24.3% | 9.5% | 6.1% | 5.1% | 1.6% | $14,161 |
| Lehigh County | 11 | 19.8% | 17.7% | 6.5% | 5.1% | 4.8% | 2% | $12,427 |
| Luzerne County | 12 | 26.5% | 20.1% | 8.7% | 6.6% | 6.1% | 3% | $13,413 |
| Northampton County | 13 | 19.4% | 20.2% | 7.4% | 5.4% | 3.7% | 1.4% | $12,350 |
| Erie County | 14 | 27.5% | 19.6% | 8.8% | 6% | 7.5% | 3.2% | $14,153 |
| Dauphin County | 15 | 21.6% | 18.1% | 6.9% | 5.2% | 5.3% | 2.5% | $12,491 |
| Lackawanna County | 16 | 25.4% | 20.6% | 8.4% | 6.2% | 6.2% | 2.6% | $13,869 |
| Cumberland County | 17 | 16.8% | 19% | 6.5% | 4.8% | 2.7% | 1.1% | $10,959 |
| Washington County | 18 | 20% | 22% | 7.9% | 5% | 4.2% | 1.5% | $13,241 |
| Beaver County | 19 | 26.6% | 22.7% | 9.6% | 6.2% | 6.8% | 2.1% | $14,576 |
| Butler County | 20 | 16.5% | 20.6% | 6.9% | 4.1% | 3.1% | 1% | $11,413 |
| Cambria County | 21 | 35% | 24% | 10.9% | 8.7% | 9.4% | 3% | $16,796 |
| Fayette County | 22 | 34.3% | 22.7% | 10.5% | 8.1% | 9.2% | 3.9% | $16,531 |
| Monroe County | 23 | 23% | 19.6% | 8.6% | 5.9% | 4.3% | 2.1% | $12,099 |
| Schuylkill County | 24 | 29% | 21% | 10% | 7.9% | 6.2% | 2.5% | $14,106 |
| Franklin County | 25 | 21.9% | 20.3% | 8% | 6% | 4.4% | 1.8% | $12,092 |
| Blair County | 26 | 27.8% | 21.6% | 8.3% | 6.8% | 6.9% | 2.6% | $15,291 |
| Lebanon County | 27 | 22.3% | 20.4% | 8.1% | 5.7% | 4.6% | 1.9% | $12,548 |
| Mercer County | 28 | 31.2% | 23.1% | 10.9% | 7.9% | 7.4% | 2.9% | $14,941 |
| Lycoming County | 29 | 27.1% | 20.7% | 9.5% | 6.7% | 6.1% | 2.5% | $13,490 |
| Centre County | 30 | 16.2% | 16% | 6.1% | 4.3% | 2.4% | 0.8% | $8,841 |
| Northumberland County | 31 | 30.7% | 22.3% | 10.1% | 8.4% | 7.2% | 2.8% | $14,644 |
| Lawrence County | 32 | 30.5% | 23.3% | 10.2% | 7.9% | 7.4% | 3% | $15,463 |
| Adams County | 33 | 21.4% | 21.6% | 8.8% | 6% | 3.3% | 1.3% | $11,892 |
| Crawford County | 34 | 31.7% | 22.7% | 10.5% | 8.9% | 6.8% | 2.8% | $15,142 |
| Clearfield County | 35 | 27.3% | 22% | 9.3% | 7.1% | 6.4% | 2.4% | $14,270 |
| Indiana County | 36 | 29.3% | 20.6% | 10.3% | 7.6% | 6.4% | 2.4% | $13,336 |
| Somerset County | 37 | 29.8% | 23.9% | 10.8% | 8.1% | 6.1% | 2.4% | $14,166 |
| Armstrong County | 38 | 26.5% | 23.9% | 9.7% | 6% | 6.5% | 2.3% | $14,396 |
| Carbon County | 39 | 23.7% | 22.4% | 8.8% | 6.9% | 4.2% | 1.8% | $13,892 |
| Venango County | 40 | 36.7% | 25% | 11.7% | 8.3% | 11.2% | 3% | $17,835 |
| Columbia County | 41 | 25.8% | 20.1% | 9.2% | 6.9% | 5% | 2.1% | $12,854 |
| Bradford County | 42 | 27.5% | 22.4% | 10.2% | 6.6% | 5.8% | 2.6% | $13,251 |
| Wayne County | 43 | 28.2% | 25.6% | 10.7% | 8.7% | 4.6% | 1.9% | $14,968 |
| Pike County | 44 | 21.9% | 24.1% | 9.4% | 5.5% | 3.4% | 1.5% | $12,484 |
| Bedford County | 45 | 29.3% | 23.9% | 10.4% | 8.7% | 5.6% | 2.3% | $14,480 |
| Jefferson County | 46 | 30.3% | 22.2% | 10.3% | 8.4% | 6.8% | 2.5% | $14,431 |
| Mifflin County | 47 | 29.4% | 21.8% | 10.1% | 7.5% | 7% | 2.8% | $13,572 |
| McKean County | 48 | 30.6% | 21% | 10.3% | 7.3% | 7.6% | 3.1% | $14,906 |
| Warren County | 49 | 31.4% | 24.7% | 11.4% | 7.9% | 7% | 2.4% | $15,398 |
| Snyder County | 50 | 28.4% | 20.5% | 8.2% | 6.4% | 10.2% | 1.6% | $14,679 |
| Huntingdon County | 51 | 29.2% | 22.4% | 10.4% | 7.2% | 6.8% | 2.4% | $13,171 |
| Perry County | 52 | 22.5% | 20.6% | 8.4% | 6.3% | 3.7% | 1.6% | $12,147 |
| Tioga County | 53 | 29.2% | 23.4% | 11% | 6.9% | 5.9% | 2.6% | $13,403 |
| Clarion County | 54 | 30.6% | 20.5% | 10.5% | 7.3% | 7.9% | 2.5% | $14,222 |
| Susquehanna County | 55 | 23.6% | 25.3% | 9.2% | 6.5% | 4% | 1.9% | $13,888 |
| Greene County | 56 | 29.3% | 21% | 9.5% | 6.3% | 7.9% | 3.1% | $14,564 |
| Clinton County | 57 | 28.3% | 20% | 9.7% | 7.3% | 6% | 2.5% | $12,968 |
| Elk County | 58 | 27.7% | 23.8% | 11.2% | 7.3% | 5.3% | 2% | $13,910 |
| Union County | 59 | 19.4% | 19.3% | 7.8% | 5.1% | 3.7% | 1.3% | $9,898 |
| Wyoming County | 60 | 24.1% | 22.9% | 9.6% | 5.8% | 4.6% | 2% | $13,099 |
| Juniata County | 61 | 21% | 21.4% | 7.8% | 5.4% | 4.3% | 1.6% | $11,913 |
| Montour County | 62 | 21.1% | 21.9% | 7.5% | 6% | 4.9% | 1.2% | $13,951 |
| Potter County | 63 | 31.5% | 25.7% | 11.4% | 8.2% | 6.5% | 2.6% | $15,254 |
| Fulton County | 64 | 27.5% | 22.7% | 10.2% | 7.5% | 5.4% | 2.3% | $13,201 |
| Sullivan County | 65 | 29.6% | 31.7% | 11.6% | 7.5% | 6.8% | 1.5% | $16,605 |
| Forest County | 66 | 47.9% | 25.1% | 18.3% | 13.1% | 9.9% | 2.8% | $13,416 |
| Cameron County | 67 | 36.4% | 29.5% | 12.9% | 10.5% | 7.3% | 3% | $18,415 |
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