About one in four people in Hardin County, Illinois, has a disability
In Hardin County, 27.4% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 59% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hardin County's score
In Hardin County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 81.3. About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 (27.7%, 2020 to 2024) aren't working, a higher share than in 83% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 69.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hardin 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.
Hardin County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (4.7%, 2020 to 2024) and people without health insurance (3.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.3 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202678th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.7% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
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- 69.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.9% · 202479th percentile
- Children below the poverty line25.8% · 202483rd percentile
- People with a disability27.4% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance3.7% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,671 · 202483rd percentile
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- 54.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.5% · August 202565th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people112.1 · 202542nd percentile
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- 50.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.5% · August 202532nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202540th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.6% · second quarter of 202678th percentile
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- 26.1 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 rent4.7% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.4% · fiscal year 202747th 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 Hardin 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 Hardin County, 29.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hardin County
Illinois
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Hardin County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 38.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a third more than benefit checks
In Hardin County, Illinois, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 38.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Hardin County getting SNAP food aid moved most in three steps: 17.7% in 2015 to 20.4% in 2016; 17.2% in 2018 to 14.5% in 2019; 15.2% in 2022 to 17.9% in 2023.
The share of households in Hardin County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 18.5%
Low on the chart: 14.5% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Hardin County, Illinois.
How Hardin County has changed
Hardin County's population had its largest rise, from 5,105 in 1974 to 5,517 in 1979.
Hardin County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1979 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 5,517 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hardin County, Illinois.
The number of jobs located in Hardin County had its largest rise, from 1,015 in 1990 to 1,248 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Hardin County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and is down 38% since
High on the chart: 1,248 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hardin County, Illinois.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.4% | 2025 5.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.8% | 2024 17.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,139 | 2024 $54,671 |
The table uses 5.3% for 2025; the score uses 4.8% 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 Hardin County's history
1839
Formed in 1839 from Pope County, with additional area later added from Gallatin County. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 7,759. The 2020 Census counted 3,649, 47% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1997
8 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hardin County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hardin County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Hardin County, in Illinois and Kentucky, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Hardin County ranks 2nd of the seven; Pope County is highest, at 41.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saline County, IL | 84 | 18.0% | 36.1% |
| Livingston County, KY | 78 | 13.0% | 37.5% |
| Crittenden County, KY | 73 | 17.5% | 37.0% |
| Union County, KY | 70 | 18.2% | 34.9% |
| Hardin County, IL | 59 | 17.9% | 38.5% |
| Pope County, IL | 50 | 16.5% | 41.2% |
| Gallatin County, IL | 48 | 17.5% | 36.3% |
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 Hardin County the poorest county in Illinois?
No, Hardin County's poverty rate was 17.9% in 2024, 7th 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, Hardin County ranks 17th of 102 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hardin 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 Hardin 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 Hardin County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.