About one in eight people with a credit file in Calhoun County, Illinois, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Calhoun County, 13.3% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 87% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 84% of U.S. counties.
What drives Calhoun County's score
In Calhoun County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 60.2. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 10.5. Bankruptcy filings ran at 46.3 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 91% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Calhoun 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, Calhoun County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (4.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 60.2 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202675th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.8% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
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- 34.7 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 rent4.3% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.2% · fiscal year 202764th percentile
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- 24.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.0% · 202422nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.5% · 202415th percentile
- People with a disability15.7% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- People without health insurance2.4% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,934 · 202433rd percentile
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- 13.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.6% · August 202520th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind0.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score30.2% · second quarter of 202613th percentile
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- 10.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.3% · August 202512th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people46.3 · 20258th 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 Calhoun 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 Calhoun County, 25.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Calhoun County
Illinois
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Calhoun County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 27.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Calhoun County, Illinois, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Calhoun County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2021 low, from 9.6% in 2020 to 7.5% in 2021.
The share of households in Calhoun County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 7.7%
Low on the chart: 7.5% 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, Calhoun County, Illinois.
How Calhoun County has changed
Calhoun County's population had its largest drop, from 5,704 in 1984 to 5,325 in 1989.
Calhoun County's population fell by about a quarter to 4,224, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 5,822 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Calhoun County, Illinois.
The number of jobs located in Calhoun County rose most sharply from its first year (579 in 1990) to 910 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Calhoun County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 972 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Calhoun County, Illinois.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.8% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.2% | 2024 10.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,620 | 2024 $72,934 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Calhoun County's history
1825
Officially organized in 1825. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 8,917. The 2020 Census counted 4,437, 50% of the peak. Census Bureau
1993
Great Flood destroyed East Hardin village (1993). Wikipedia
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Since 1969
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Calhoun County, 19 of them for flooding. FEMA
Calhoun County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Calhoun County, in Illinois and Missouri, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Calhoun County ranks 4th of the seven; Pike County is highest, at 31.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pike County, MO | 58 | 15.9% | 31.8% |
| Pike County, IL | 46 | 13.5% | 28.1% |
| Greene County, IL | 30 | 14.0% | 29.5% |
| Lincoln County, MO | 29 | 7.9% | 21.2% |
| Jersey County, IL | 26 | 9.5% | 25.4% |
| Calhoun County, IL | 15 | 10.0% | 27.3% |
| St. Charles County, MO | 7 | 6.3% | 15.6% |
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 Calhoun County the poorest county in Illinois?
No, Calhoun County's poverty rate was 10.0% in 2024, 69th 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, Calhoun County ranks 89th of 102 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Calhoun 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 Calhoun 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 Calhoun County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.