About one in six people in Coles County, Illinois, has a disability
In Coles County, 17.6% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 63% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 52% of U.S. counties.
What drives Coles County's score
In Coles County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 60.2. Bankruptcy filings ran at 195.4 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 73% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 54.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Coles 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.
Coles County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (18.6%, fiscal year 2027) and people with a car or retail loan behind (3.9%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 60.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.3% · August 202546th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people195.4 · 202573rd percentile
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- 54.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.5% · 202460th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.2% · 202434th percentile
- People with a disability17.6% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- People without health insurance7.1% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,313 · 202466th percentile
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- 52.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202645th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.3% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
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- 46.9 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 rent20.8% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.6% · fiscal year 202727th percentile
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- 44.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.6% · August 202553rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.9% · August 202530th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score40.2% · second quarter of 202650th 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 Coles 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 Coles County, 18.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Coles County
Illinois
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Coles County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 25.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Coles County, Illinois, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Coles County getting SNAP food aid more than doubled to 19.0%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2012 to 2013, reaching 14.6%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Coles County, Illinois.
How Coles County has changed
Coles County's population had its largest drop, from 50,996 in 2014 to 47,389 in 2019.
Coles County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2009 and is down 13% since
High on the chart: 53,612 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Coles County, Illinois.
The number of jobs located in Coles County rose most sharply from its first year (21,418 in 1990) to 25,039 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Coles County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 15% since
High on the chart: 27,662 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Coles County, Illinois.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.4% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.2% | 2024 14.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,312 | 2024 $61,313 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Coles County's history
1830
Organized December 25, 1830 from Clark and Edgar counties. Wikipedia
1994
A tornado in April 1994 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A tornado in March 1998 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A tornado in September 2003 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flood in June 2008 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 53,873. The 2020 Census counted 46,863, 87% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1974
9 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Coles County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Coles County beside its neighbors
Coles County scores higher than all six counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Coles County ranks 4th of the seven; Edgar County is highest, at 30.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coles County, IL | 52 | 14.5% | 25.1% |
| Edgar County, IL | 40 | 13.0% | 30.1% |
| Clark County, IL | 27 | 11.0% | 28.8% |
| Moultrie County, IL | 15 | 9.3% | 18.1% |
| Douglas County, IL | 14 | 7.8% | 18.0% |
| Cumberland County, IL | 12 | 9.8% | 13.5% |
| Shelby County, IL | 8 | 8.8% | 26.0% |
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 Coles County the poorest county in Illinois?
No, Coles County's poverty rate was 14.5% in 2024, 25th 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, Coles County ranks 22nd of 102 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Coles 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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Erba Coles County Outreach Office
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Erba Coles County Outreach Office - West
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.
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 Coles County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.