In 2022, Income Maintenance transfers in Cambria County totaled $188.11 million, amounting to $1,431 per capita, or 8.5% of total government transfers, according to information from the Economic Innovation Group.
Among all government transfer programs, Income Maintenance was the smallest contributor in the county. Social Security was the largest contributor, totaling $685.52 million, equating to $5,215 per capita and making up 31.1% 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.
Medicaid was the second largest contributor in Cambria County in 2022, accounting for $592.68 million, averaging $4,509 per capita, representing 26.8% of transfers. Medicare transfers provided another $548.19 million, averaging $4,171 per capita and comprising 24.8% 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 24% of the population aged 65 and older, Cambria County has a significant demand for programs like Social Security and Medicare. Despite this aid, the total per capita income in Cambria County, excluding government transfers was $31,175, which is far below the county’s total income of $47,971, emphasizing the role of government transfers in overall income.
When comparing 2022 to the previous year, Cambria County saw a decrease in its Income Maintenance transfer dependency by 0.1%.
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 Cambria County, reliance on government transfers has similarly increased from 14.4% (or $2,747 per capita) in 1970 to 35% (or $16,796 per capita) in 2022, reflecting broader national trends.
According to the Economic Innovation Group’s analysis, these trends are not merely short-term responses to economic pressures but rather reflect a profound, long-term transformation in how government support is integrated into American life. The study illustrates that structural shifts—from rising healthcare expenses and demographic changes to stagnant wages—have significantly increased dependency on government transfers.
| County | Rank | Dependency on Transfers (%) | % Population 65+ | Social Security Transfers (%) | Medicare Transfers (%) | Medicaid Transfers (%) | Income Maintenance Transfers (%) | Per Capita Transfers ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
