In Cumberland County, Illinois, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in seven dollars of the typical household's income
In Cumberland County, 13.7% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 87% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cumberland County's score
In Cumberland County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 39.9. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 15.7. People with a car or retail loan behind: 0.0%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cumberland 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.
Cumberland County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 39.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.8% · August 202517th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people155.9 · 202561st percentile
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- 30.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202642nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.5% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
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- 23.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.8% · 202420th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.9% · 202422nd percentile
- People with a disability14.2% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- People without health insurance5.3% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$81,491 · 202418th percentile
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- 22.0 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 rent16.3% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income13.7% · fiscal year 20275th or lower percentile
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- 15.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.8% · August 202522nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind0.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.9% · second quarter of 202619th 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 Cumberland 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 Cumberland County, 21.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cumberland County
Illinois
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Cumberland County had its largest drop, from 22.3% in 2009 to 14.9% in 2014.
In Cumberland County, benefit checks' share of income has risen by about half since 1969, reaching 13.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about six times as much as benefit checks
In Cumberland County, Illinois, benefit checks' share of income rose by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 13.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Cumberland County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 10.6% in 2019 to 8.5% in 2020.
The share of households in Cumberland County getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 9.2%, with its low point on the chart in 2021
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, Cumberland County, Illinois.
How Cumberland County has changed
Cumberland County's population rose most sharply from its first year (9,819 in 1969) to 10,379 in 1974.
Cumberland County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 8% since
High on the chart: 11,186 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cumberland County, Illinois.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Cumberland County doubled to 2,889, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 2,124. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cumberland County, Illinois.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.8% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.6% | 2024 9.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,576 | 2024 $81,491 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Cumberland County's history
1843
Created March 2, 1843 from parts of Coles County. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 16,124. The 2020 Census counted 10,450, 65% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1974
9 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cumberland County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cumberland County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Cumberland County, two score higher. Of the group, Cumberland County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Clark County gets the largest, at 28.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coles County, IL | 52 | 14.5% | 25.1% |
| Clark County, IL | 27 | 11.0% | 28.8% |
| Cumberland County, IL | 12 | 9.8% | 13.5% |
| Shelby County, IL | 8 | 8.8% | 26.0% |
| Jasper County, IL | 6 | 11.3% | 26.0% |
| Effingham County, IL | 5 | 8.1% | 19.0% |
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 Cumberland County the poorest county in Illinois?
No, Cumberland County's poverty rate was 9.8% in 2024, 72nd 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, Cumberland County ranks 93rd of 102 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cumberland 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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Embarras River Basin Agency, Inc.
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Erba Cumberland County Outreach Office
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 Cumberland 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 Cumberland County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.