About one in 24 people in Kendall County, Illinois, lives below the poverty line
In Kendall County, 4.2% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 74% of U.S. counties.
What drives Kendall County's score
In Kendall County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 57.4. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 2.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Kendall 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, Kendall County is worse off than most counties on bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (217.2, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 57.4 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 rent16.6% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.4% · fiscal year 202774th percentile
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- 50.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector15.9% · August 202522nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people217.2 · 202578th percentile
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- 42.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202668th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.2% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
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- 23.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.7% · August 202536th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.4% · August 202523rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score28.9% · second quarter of 202610th percentile
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- 2.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line4.2% · 20240th percentile
- Children below the poverty line5.2% · 20240th percentile
- People with a disability8.2% · 2020 to 20241st percentile
- People without health insurance4.0% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$120,075 · 20241st 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 Kendall 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 Kendall County, 11.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Kendall County
Illinois
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Kendall County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 11.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about seven times as much as benefit checks
In Kendall County, Illinois, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 11.4%; 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 Kendall County getting SNAP food aid grew to about four times its 2009 level, reaching 8.6%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2009 to 2010, reaching 3.7%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Kendall County, Illinois.
How Kendall County has changed
Kendall County's population had its largest rise, from 73,723 in 2004 to 112,490 in 2009.
Kendall County's population grew to about six times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 143,171, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 37,261. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Kendall County, Illinois.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Kendall County grew to about four times its 1990 size, reaching 30,845, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 12,320. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Kendall County, Illinois.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.5% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 2.8% | 2024 4.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $42,220 | 2024 $120,075 |
The table uses 4.3% for 2025; the score uses 4.5% 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 Kendall County's history
1841
Kendall County was formed in 1841 out of LaSalle and Kane Counties. Wikipedia
1976
A tornado in March 1976 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A tornado in April 1984 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
A flash flood in July 1996 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flash flood in September 2008 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 131,869, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Kendall County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Kendall County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Kendall County, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Kendall County ranks 6th of the seven; LaSalle County is highest, at 23.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeKalb County, IL | 50 | 11.6% | 20.5% |
| LaSalle County, IL | 41 | 12.8% | 23.9% |
| Will County, IL | 41 | 7.7% | 14.1% |
| Kane County, IL | 36 | 7.3% | 14.6% |
| Grundy County, IL | 34 | 5.8% | 16.3% |
| 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 Kendall County the poorest county in Illinois?
No, Kendall County's poverty rate was 4.2% in 2024, the lowest 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, Kendall County ranks 76th of 102 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Kendall 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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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.
Download the CSV for Kendall 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 Kendall County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.