About one in 10 people in Champaign County, Illinois, has a disability
In Champaign County, 10.2% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 57% of U.S. counties.
What drives Champaign County's score
In Champaign County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 78.0. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 31.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 89 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 69% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Champaign 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, Champaign County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (28.0%, 2020 to 2024) and people below the poverty line (18.8%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 78.0 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent28.0% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.9% · fiscal year 202762nd percentile
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- 44.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202662nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.0% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
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- 40.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.8% · 202483rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.4% · 202435th percentile
- People with a disability10.2% · 2020 to 20244th percentile
- People without health insurance5.2% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$64,240 · 202457th percentile
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- 32.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.2% · August 202527th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.7% · August 202543rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score34.4% · second quarter of 202627th percentile
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- 31.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector18.2% · August 202531st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people89 · 202530th 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 Champaign 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 Champaign County, 13.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Champaign County
Illinois
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Champaign County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 15.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Champaign County, Illinois, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 15.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Champaign County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 10.2% in 2022 to 9.6% in 2023.
The share of households in Champaign County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2021 and has since fallen to 9.1%
Low on the chart: 7.6% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Champaign County, Illinois.
How Champaign County has changed
Champaign County's population rose by about a third to 212,374, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2004 to 2009, reaching 199,968. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Champaign County, Illinois.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Champaign County rose by about a fifth to 95,049, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 90,417. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Champaign County, Illinois.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.9% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.7% | 2024 18.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,986 | 2024 $64,240 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.3% 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 Champaign County's history
1833
Champaign County was organized in 1833. Wikipedia
1868
Illinois Industrial University opened (1868). Wikipedia
1871
Fire burned downtown Urbana (1871). Wikipedia
1953
A tornado in April 1953 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1974
A tornado in April 1974 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A tornado in November 2013 did $60 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A flash flood in July 2014 did $47 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 205,865, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1968
12 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Champaign County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Champaign County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Champaign County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Champaign County ranks 5th of the six; Vermilion County is highest, at 30.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vermilion County, IL | 73 | 17.3% | 30.9% |
| Champaign County, IL | 42 | 18.8% | 15.5% |
| Ford County, IL | 27 | 9.3% | 20.6% |
| McLean County, IL | 21 | 11.6% | 14.9% |
| Douglas County, IL | 14 | 7.8% | 18.0% |
| Piatt County, IL | 5 | 6.9% | 18.8% |
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 Champaign County the poorest county in Illinois?
No, Champaign County's poverty rate was 18.8% in 2024, 4th 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, Champaign County ranks 36th of 102 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Champaign 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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Habitat for Humanity of Champaign County
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Champaign 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 Champaign County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.