In Alexander County, Illinois, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2015
In 2024, 53 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 89% of U.S. counties.
What drives Alexander County's score
In Alexander County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 94.2. Unemployment averaged 6.2%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, higher than in 94% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 88.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Alexander County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Alexander County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (5.2%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (85.2, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 94.2 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202694th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working32.4% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
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- 88.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line24.8% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line37.1% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability23.8% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- People without health insurance9.5% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$48,493 · 202493rd percentile
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- 87.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.4% · August 202578th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.8% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score56.2% · second quarter of 202691st percentile
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- 56.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector34.6% · August 202585th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people85.2 · 202528th percentile
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- 44.4 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent5.2% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.0% · fiscal year 202783rd percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Alexander County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Alexander County, 24.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Alexander County
Illinois
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Alexander County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Illinois
In Alexander County, Illinois, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 53.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Alexander County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 20.7% in 2022 to 28.5% in 2023.
The share of households in Alexander County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 17.6% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Alexander County, Illinois.
How Alexander County has changed
Alexander County's population fell by more than half to 4,594, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2014 to 2019, reaching 5,474. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Alexander County, Illinois.
The number of jobs located in Alexander County had its largest drop, from 1,869 in 2010 to 1,256 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Alexander County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 66% since
High on the chart: 2,512 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Alexander County, Illinois.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 12.2% | 2025 6.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 28.8% | 2024 24.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,402 | 2024 $48,493 |
The table uses 6.8% for 2025; the score uses 6.2% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Alexander County's history
1819
Organized from part of Union County in 1819. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 25,496. The 2020 Census counted 5,240, 21% of the peak. Census Bureau
2011
A flood in May 2011 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flood in January 2016 did $4.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flood in June 2019 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flood in July 2019 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Alexander County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Alexander County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Alexander County, in Illinois, Missouri and Kentucky, one scores higher. Of the group, Alexander County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (53.2%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi County, MO | 98 | 21.0% | 40.7% |
| Alexander County, IL | 89 | 24.8% | 53.2% |
| Pulaski County, IL | 84 | 21.7% | 45.8% |
| Scott County, MO | 65 | 13.5% | 32.5% |
| Ballard County, KY | 64 | 15.9% | 29.1% |
| Union County, IL | 55 | 17.2% | 35.6% |
| Cape Girardeau County, MO | 38 | 12.4% | 23.0% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Alexander County the poorest county in Illinois?
Yes, Alexander County's poverty rate was 24.8% in 2024, the highest of 102 counties in Illinois (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Alexander County ranks 1st of 102 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Alexander County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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Land of Lincoln Legal Aid
Legal aid
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Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO)
Legal help website
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Alexander County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America 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.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Alexander County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.