About one in 11 people in DuPage County, Illinois, has a disability
In DuPage County, 9.0% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 80% of U.S. counties.
What drives DuPage County's score
In DuPage County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 64.2. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 6.2. About one in 18 children (5.5%, 2024) lives below the poverty line, a lower share than in 98% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in DuPage 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.
DuPage 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.
- 64.2 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 rent21.1% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.8% · fiscal year 202760th percentile
-
- 40.1 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 202658th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.0% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
-
- 33.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.2% · August 20256th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people153.4 · 202561st percentile
-
- 15.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.2% · August 202513th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.7% · August 202527th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score26.1% · second quarter of 20264th percentile
-
- 6.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line6.3% · 20242nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line5.5% · 20241st percentile
- People with a disability9.0% · 2020 to 20242nd percentile
- People without health insurance5.2% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$110,974 · 20242nd percentile
-
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 DuPage 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 DuPage County, 17.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
DuPage County
Illinois
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In DuPage County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 11.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about six times as much as benefit checks
In DuPage County, Illinois, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 11.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in DuPage County getting SNAP food aid rose most in three steps: 3.4% in 2010 to 4.1% in 2011; 4.7% in 2012 to 5.4% in 2013; 6.2% in 2021 to 6.9% in 2022.
The share of households in DuPage County getting SNAP food aid more than doubled to 7.4%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2012 to 2013, reaching 5.4%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, DuPage County, Illinois.
How DuPage County has changed
DuPage County's population had its largest rise, from 550,404 in 1974 to 636,559 in 1979.
DuPage County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 937,142
High on the chart: 939,212 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, DuPage County, Illinois.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in DuPage County rose by about half to 629,392, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 509,844. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, DuPage County, Illinois.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.0% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 2.3% | 2024 6.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $49,421 | 2024 $110,974 |
The table uses 3.9% 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 DuPage County's history
1833
Potawatomi forced out after Treaty of Chicago. Wikipedia
1839
Officially formed February 9, 1839 from Cook County. Wikipedia
1988
A thunderstorm in May 1988 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
Lightning in June 2005 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A thunderstorm in August 2007 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A thunderstorm in August 2015 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 932,877, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
-
Since 1967
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered DuPage County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
DuPage County beside its neighbors
All four counties that border DuPage County score higher than it does. Of the group, DuPage County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Cook County gets the largest, at 16.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cook County, IL | 72 | 13.7% | 16.6% |
| Will County, IL | 41 | 7.7% | 14.1% |
| Kane County, IL | 36 | 7.3% | 14.6% |
| Kendall County, IL | 25 | 4.2% | 11.4% |
| DuPage County, IL | 19 | 6.3% | 11.1% |
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 DuPage County the poorest county in Illinois?
No, DuPage County's poverty rate was 6.3% in 2024, 97th 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, DuPage County ranks 83rd of 102 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in DuPage 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.
-
Dupage Homeownership Center, Inc. Dba H.o.m.e. Dupage, Inc.
HUD-approved housing counselor
-
Prairie State Legal Services
Legal aid
-
Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO)
Legal help website
-
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 DuPage 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 DuPage County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.