Here are the 20 most economically stressed counties with populations of at least 25,000 and their September 2010 Stress scores, according to The Associated Press Economic Stress Index:

1. Imperial County, Calif., 34.04

2. Yuma County, Ariz., 29.22

3. Lyon County, Nev., 26.21

4. Nye County, Nev., 25.56

5. Yuba County, Calif., 24.32

6. Clark County, Nev., 23.5

7. Hendry County, Fla., 22.67

8. Santa Cruz County, Ariz., 22.57

9. San Joaquin County, Calif., 22.44

10. Merced County, Calif., 22.17

11. Stanislaus County, Calif., 22.01

12. Riverside County, Calif., 21.86

13. Lake County, Calif., 21.55

14. Sutter County, Calif., 21.18

15. San Bernardino County, Calif., 20.26

16. Newton County, Ga., 20.17

17. Kern County, Calif., 20.08

18. Pinal County, Ariz., 20

19. Coffee County, Ga., 19.91

20. Calaveras County, Calif., 19.86

A list of the 20 least economically stressed counties with populations of at least 25,000 and their September 2010 Stress scores, according to The Associated Press Economic Stress Index:

1. Ward County, N.D., 2.95

2. Burleigh County, N.D., 3.52

3. Brown County, S.D., 3.78

4. Brookings County, S.D., 3.86

5. Sioux County, Iowa, 4.04

6. Grand Forks County, N.D., 4.04

7. Ellis County, Kan., 4.08

8. Buffalo County, Neb., 4.12

9. Codington County, S.D., 4.17

10. Morton County, N.D., 4.2

11. Cass County, N.D., 4.32

12. Ford County, Kan., 4.37

13. Arlington County, Va., 4.64

14. Polk County, Minn., 4.71

15. Lincoln County, S.D., 4.73

16. Pennington County, S.D., 4.75

17. Albany County, Wyo., 4.77

18. Meade County, S.D., 4.86

19. Madison County, Neb., 4.88

20. Lincoln County, Neb., 4.93

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Source: AP Economic Stress Index