About one in 10 people in Kane County, Illinois, has a disability
In Kane County, 9.7% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 96% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 63% of U.S. counties.
What drives Kane County's score
In Kane County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 74.0. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 14.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Kane 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, Kane County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (4.9%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 74.1 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 rent22.4% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.3% · fiscal year 202773rd percentile
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- 50.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202679th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.0% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
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- 41.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector15.7% · August 202521st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people154.4 · 202561st percentile
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- 28.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.4% · August 202531st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.3% · August 202537th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.1% · second quarter of 202616th percentile
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- 14.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.3% · 20245th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.0% · 20249th percentile
- People with a disability9.7% · 2020 to 20243rd percentile
- People without health insurance7.8% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$103,587 · 20244th 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 Kane 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 Kane County, 15.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Kane County
Illinois
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Kane County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 14.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about five times as much as benefit checks
In Kane County, Illinois, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 14.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Kane County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.8% in 2011 to 9.4% in 2012.
The share of households in Kane County getting SNAP food aid doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 11.0%
High on the chart: 11.4% in 2016. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Kane County, Illinois.
How Kane County has changed
Kane County's population doubled to 520,997, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1999 to 2004, reaching 466,884. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Kane County, Illinois.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Kane County rose by about half to 213,552, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 192,864. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Kane County, Illinois.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.0% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 7.0% | 2024 7.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $38,314 | 2024 $103,587 |
The table uses 4.7% for 2025; the score uses 4.9% 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 Kane County's history
1900
Swedish immigrants comprised half of Geneva's population by 1900. Wikipedia
1996
A flash flood in July 1996 did $14.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
Lightning in June 2006 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A flood in August 2007 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flash flood in September 2008 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 516,522, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1967
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Kane County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Kane County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Kane County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Kane County ranks 4th of the six; DeKalb County is highest, at 20.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cook County, IL | 72 | 13.7% | 16.6% |
| DeKalb County, IL | 50 | 11.6% | 20.5% |
| Kane County, IL | 36 | 7.3% | 14.6% |
| Kendall County, IL | 25 | 4.2% | 11.4% |
| McHenry County, IL | 24 | 6.3% | 15.6% |
| 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 Kane County the poorest county in Illinois?
No, Kane County's poverty rate was 7.3% in 2024, 94th 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, Kane County ranks 49th of 102 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Kane 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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Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Northern Illinois
HUD-approved housing counselor
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The Neighbor Project
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Prairie State Legal Services
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 Kane County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.