Wilkes County is more dependent on Social Security payments than is the rest of the country.  If Wilkes County residents didn’t receive their monthly payments from the Social Security Administration, 9.7 percent of total personal income in the county would be lost, a total of $204,806,633 in 2009.  Nationally, 5.5 percent of total personal income in 2009 came from Social Security payments.  In North Carolina, 6.6 percent of all income comes from these payments.  In Wilkes County, 17,235 people receive some form of Social Security payment, either an old age pension, a survivor benefit or a disability check, according to the Social Security Administration and the Bureau of Economic Analysis.  Social Security beneficiaries represent 25.9 percent of the total county population.  In rural counties such as Wilkes with smaller cities, Social Security payments constitute a much larger chunk of the local economy than in urban areas. Total Social Security payments in Wilkes County amounted to $3,077 per person in 2009. The national average was $2,199 per person and in North Carolina it was $2,336.  Social Security payments in Wilkes County have been changing as a proportion of total income. These payments amounted to 3.9 percent of total income in 1970, 5.8 percent in 1980, 5.7 percent in 1990, 6.5 percent in 2000 and 9.7 percent in 2009.  Social Security payments go to those over the age of 62 who have filed for benefits, to survivors of insured workers and to those with disabilities. The program is mainly funded by payroll taxes. In Wilkes County, 65.2 percent of recipients were retirees in 2009, 11.3 percent were survivors and 23.5 percent were disabled.