In Boone County, Illinois, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Boone County, 16.2% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 91% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 56% of U.S. counties.
What drives Boone County's score
In Boone County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 72.8. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 18.4. About one in 12 people (8.4%, 2024) lives below the poverty line, a lower share than in 89% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Boone 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.
Even so, Boone County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.6%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (235, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 72.8 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202690th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.6% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
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- 59.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector19.3% · August 202535th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people235 · 202582nd percentile
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- 46.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.4% · August 202548th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.1% · August 202563rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score34.2% · second quarter of 202626th percentile
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- 33.2 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 rent19.5% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.2% · fiscal year 20278th percentile
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- 18.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.4% · 202410th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.6% · 202416th percentile
- People with a disability13.4% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- People without health insurance5.6% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$86,711 · 202413th 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 Boone 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 Boone County, 16.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Boone County
Illinois
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Boone County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 19.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than three times as much as benefit checks
In Boone County, Illinois, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 19.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Boone County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply after its 2010 low, from 8.1% in 2010 to 9.9% in 2011.
The share of households in Boone County getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled to 14.3%, the highest on the chart
Low on the chart: 8.1% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Boone County, Illinois.
How Boone County has changed
Boone County's population had its largest rise, from 40,844 in 1999 to 47,893 in 2004.
Boone County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 53,313
High on the chart: 54,154 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Boone County, Illinois.
The number of jobs located in Boone County had its largest drop in the last span, from 16,321 in 2020 to 11,310 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Boone County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 17,217 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Boone County, Illinois.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.0% | 2025 5.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 6.1% | 2024 8.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $33,059 | 2024 $86,711 |
The table uses 5.5% for 2025; the score uses 5.6% 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 Boone County's history
1835
New England settlers arrived after Black Hawk War and Erie Canal completion (1835). Wikipedia
1836
Formed March 3, 1836, from Winnebago County. Wikipedia
1967
A tornado in April 1967 killed 24 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
Lightning in August 2001 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 54,165. The 2020 Census counted 53,448, 99% of the peak. Census Bureau
2023
A tornado in March 2023 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
11 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Boone County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Boone County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Boone County, in Illinois and Wisconsin, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Boone County ranks 4th of the six; Winnebago County is highest, at 25.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winnebago County, IL | 74 | 14.8% | 25.5% |
| DeKalb County, IL | 50 | 11.6% | 20.5% |
| Boone County, IL | 43 | 8.4% | 19.1% |
| Rock County, WI | 32 | 9.9% | 21.6% |
| McHenry County, IL | 24 | 6.3% | 15.6% |
| Walworth County, WI | 12 | 7.9% | 17.7% |
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 Boone County the poorest county in Illinois?
No, Boone County's poverty rate was 8.4% in 2024, 85th highest of 102 in Illinois (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Alexander County, at 24.8%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Boone County ranks 33rd of 102 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Boone 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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Prairie State Legal Services
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.
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 Boone County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.