Illinois County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 102 counties in Illinois, scored 0–100 across five domains. A county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than; the average Illinois county scores 37.9. 9 counties score high, very high, or extreme.
Data: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Urban Institute, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts | Scores as of Aug 2026
Illinois Snapshot
102 Counties Scored
37.9 Mean Score
35.4 Median Score
89 Alexander County Most Distressed
0 Monroe County Least Distressed
4 very high county distress5 high county distress7 moderate-high county distress9 moderate county distress19 moderate-low county distress18 low-moderate county distress20 low county distress11 very low county distress9 exceptionally low county distress
Score Label Distribution Illinois County Map
Alexander County is the most distressed of Illinois's 102 counties
County Distress Index score for Illinois's 102 counties, from green (least distressed, 0–29) to red (most distressed, 80–100). Data from 2024 to Aug 2026.
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Least distressed 0–2930–4950–6970–7980–100 Most distressed
County Distress Index score · data from 2024 to Aug 2026
Point to or tap a county for its rank and score. Click it, or tap it twice, to open its page.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How Illinois's 102 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Illinois Counties
102 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Score Label | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | — | Alexander County | 89 | very high county distress | Labor |
| 2 | — | Pulaski County | 84 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 3 | — | Saline County | 84 | very high county distress | Labor |
| 4 | — | Franklin County | 82 | very high county distress | Labor |
| 5 | — | Jackson County | 79 | high county distress | Labor |
| 6 | — | Winnebago County | 74 | high county distress | Labor |
| 7 | — | Vermilion County | 73 | high county distress | Labor |
| 8 | — | Cook County | 72 | high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 9 | — | Macon County | 71 | high county distress | Labor |
| 10 | — | Peoria County | 69 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 11 | — | Kankakee County | 69 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 12 | — | St. Clair County | 67 | moderate-high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 13 | — | Jefferson County | 65 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 14 | — | Marion County | 63 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 15 | — | Knox County | 62 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 16 | — | McDonough County | 60 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 17 | — | Hardin County | 59 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 18 | — | Mason County | 56 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 19 | — | Stark County | 55 | moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 20 | — | Union County | 55 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 21 | — | Rock Island County | 53 | moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 22 | — | Coles County | 52 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 23 | — | Lawrence County | 52 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 24 | — | Pope County | 50 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 25 | — | DeKalb County | 50 | moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 26 | — | Wabash County | 49 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 27 | — | Gallatin County | 48 | moderate-low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 28 | — | Williamson County | 48 | moderate-low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 29 | — | Henderson County | 47 | moderate-low county distress | Delinquency |
| 30 | — | Pike County | 46 | moderate-low county distress | Delinquency |
| 31 | — | White County | 46 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 32 | — | Stephenson County | 44 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 33 | — | Boone County | 43 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 34 | — | Massac County | 42 | moderate-low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 35 | — | Perry County | 42 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 36 | — | Champaign County | 42 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 37 | — | Wayne County | 41 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 38 | — | Fulton County | 41 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 39 | — | LaSalle County | 41 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 40 | — | Will County | 41 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 41 | — | Macoupin County | 41 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 42 | — | Randolph County | 40 | moderate-low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 43 | — | Edgar County | 40 | moderate-low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 44 | — | Madison County | 40 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 45 | — | Sangamon County | 39 | low-moderate county distress | Labor |
| 46 | — | Logan County | 39 | low-moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 47 | — | Cass County | 38 | low-moderate county distress | Labor |
| 48 | — | Schuyler County | 37 | low-moderate county distress | Labor |
| 49 | — | Kane County | 36 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 50 | — | Christian County | 35 | low-moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 51 | — | Montgomery County | 35 | low-moderate county distress | Labor |
| 52 | — | Whiteside County | 35 | low-moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 53 | — | Fayette County | 34 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 54 | — | Grundy County | 34 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 55 | — | Clay County | 33 | low-moderate county distress | Labor |
| 56 | — | Adams County | 33 | low-moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 57 | — | Scott County | 33 | low-moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 58 | — | Hamilton County | 33 | low-moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 59 | — | Morgan County | 32 | low-moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 60 | — | Greene County | 30 | low-moderate county distress | Labor |
| 61 | — | Lake County | 30 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 62 | — | Warren County | 30 | low-moderate county distress | Labor |
| 63 | — | Johnson County | 29 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 64 | — | Brown County | 28 | low county distress | Labor |
| 65 | — | Lee County | 28 | low county distress | Labor |
| 66 | — | Richland County | 28 | low county distress | Labor |
| 67 | — | Crawford County | 27 | low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 68 | — | Clark County | 27 | low county distress | Labor |
| 69 | — | Ford County | 27 | low county distress | Labor |
| 70 | — | Iroquois County | 26 | low county distress | Labor |
| 71 | — | Jersey County | 26 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 72 | — | Marshall County | 26 | low county distress | Labor |
| 73 | — | Bond County | 25 | low county distress | Labor |
| 74 | — | Carroll County | 25 | low county distress | Labor |
| 75 | — | Tazewell County | 25 | low county distress | Labor |
| 76 | — | Kendall County | 25 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 77 | — | Putnam County | 24 | low county distress | Labor |
| 78 | — | McHenry County | 24 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 79 | — | Edwards County | 23 | low county distress | Labor |
| 80 | — | Ogle County | 23 | low county distress | Labor |
| 81 | — | McLean County | 21 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 82 | — | Livingston County | 20 | low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 83 | — | DuPage County | 19 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 84 | — | Hancock County | 18 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 85 | — | Bureau County | 18 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 86 | — | Henry County | 18 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 87 | — | De Witt County | 17 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 88 | — | Moultrie County | 15 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 89 | — | Calhoun County | 15 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 90 | — | Douglas County | 14 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 91 | — | Mercer County | 14 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 92 | — | Menard County | 13 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 93 | — | Cumberland County | 12 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 94 | — | Jo Daviess County | 8 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 95 | — | Shelby County | 8 | exceptionally low county distress | Labor |
| 96 | — | Jasper County | 6 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 97 | — | Clinton County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 98 | — | Piatt County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 99 | — | Effingham County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 100 | — | Woodford County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Labor |
| 101 | — | Washington County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 102 | 3,134 | Monroe County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using five equal-weighted domains. Each domain averages its member indicators' county ranks, the domains are averaged, and that average is ranked against every U.S. county. So a county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than. National ranks are shown only for the 100 most and 100 least distressed counties, because ranks in between move between updates. Counties with identical composite scores share a rank, marked T- for tied.
extreme county distress — 0 Illinois counties
very high county distress — 4 Illinois counties
high county distress — 5 Illinois counties
moderate-high county distress — 7 Illinois counties
moderate county distress — 9 Illinois counties
moderate-low county distress — 19 Illinois counties
low-moderate county distress — 18 Illinois counties
low county distress — 20 Illinois counties
very low county distress — 11 Illinois counties
exceptionally low county distress — 9 Illinois counties
Urban Institute data: Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it.