In Lake County, Illinois, benefit checks make up only 10 cents of every dollar of income

In Lake County, 10.3% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.

Photo of Ross Kilburn
Data from
County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026
61st
of 102 counties in Illinois
30score /100

Less distressed than 69% of U.S. counties.

What drives Lake County's score

In Lake County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 71.1. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 13.3. The typical household earns $108,137 a year (2024), more than in 96% of U.S. counties.

The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lake 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, Lake County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (4.9%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (22.7%, 2020 to 2024).

A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.

  • Housing costs

    Biggest factor
    71.1 of 100

    Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027

    • Renters paying half their income or more in rent
      22.7% · 2020 to 2024
      76th percentile
    • Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income
      22.3% · fiscal year 2027
      65th percentile

  • Jobs

    53.6 of 100

    Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey

    • Unemployment rate, average over the latest year
      4.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026
      78th percentile
    • Adults 25 to 54 not working
      17.2% · 2020 to 2024
      28th percentile

  • Collections and bankruptcy

    35.7 of 100

    Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025

    • People with unpaid debt sent to a collector
      14.3% · August 2025
      15th percentile
    • Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people
      138.3 · 2025
      55th percentile

  • Late payments

    20.8 of 100

    Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026

    • People with a credit card behind
      3.9% · August 2025
      23rd percentile
    • People with a car or retail loan behind
      3.8% · August 2025
      28th percentile
    • People with a subprime credit score
      28.8% · second quarter of 2026
      10th percentile

  • Income and safety net

    13.3 of 100

    Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey

    • People below the poverty line
      7.8% · 2024
      7th percentile
    • Children below the poverty line
      9.5% · 2024
      10th percentile
    • People with a disability
      9.8% · 2020 to 2024
      3rd percentile
    • People without health insurance
      6.9% · 2020 to 2024
      41st percentile
    • Median household income (lower income, longer bar)
      $108,137 · 2024
      3rd 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 Lake 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 Lake County, 15.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.

Cents of every dollar of income, 2024

Lake County

62 28 10

Illinois

62 21 17

United States

61 21 18
  • Pay from work
  • Investments and rent
  • Benefit checks
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4), shares of all personal income received by residents, 2024. Pay from work is total income minus the other two, so the three add to 100.

In Lake County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 10.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about six times as much as benefit checks

In Lake County, Illinois, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 10.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.

  • Benefit checks
  • Pay from work
0%40%80% 196919741979198419891994199920042009201420192024 0%40%80% 196919791989199920092024
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4), shares of all personal income received by residents, Lake County, Illinois American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/illinois/lake-county-il/
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SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.

The share of households in Lake County getting SNAP food aid more than doubled to 9.4%, the highest on the chart

Biggest rise: 2010 to 2011, reaching 5.9%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lake County, Illinois.

0%5%10% 4.2%9.4% 2009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 0%5%10% 4.2%9.4% 20092011201320152017201920212024
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/illinois/lake-county-il/
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How Lake County has changed

Lake County's population had its largest rise, from 567,357 in 1994 to 633,094 in 1999.

Lake County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 718,604, with no dip in any year shown

Smallest rise: 2014 to 2019, reaching 715,105. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lake County, Illinois.

0400,000800,000 374,447718,604 196919741979198419891994199920042009201420192024 0400,000800,000 374,447718,604 196919791989199920092024
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/illinois/lake-county-il/
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The number of jobs located in Lake County had its largest rise, from 257,024 in 1995 to 310,413 in 2000.

The number of jobs located in Lake County rose by about half from 1990 to 2025, reaching 325,826

High on the chart: 331,311 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lake County, Illinois.

0200,000400,000 216,673325,826 19901995200020052010201520202025 0200,000400,000 216,673325,826 19901995200020052010201520202025
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/illinois/lake-county-il/
Download data (CSV)
MeasureThenNowSource
Unemployment rateBLS LAUS 1990 3.8% 2025 4.7% BLS LAUS
People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE 1989 5.4% 2024 7.8% Census SAIPE
Median household incomeCensus SAIPE 1989 $43,882 2024 $108,137 Census SAIPE

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 Lake County's history

  1. 1839

    The county was created by the Illinois State Legislature in 1839, on March 1. Wikipedia

  2. 1967

    A tornado in April 1967 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database

  3. 2002

    Lightning in June 2002 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database

  4. 2007

    A thunderstorm in August 2007 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database

  5. 2017

    A flash flood in July 2017 did $12.7 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database

  6. 2020

    The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 714,342, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau

  7. Since 1965

    17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lake County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA

Lake County beside its neighbors

Of the three counties that border Lake County, in Illinois and Wisconsin, two score higher. Of the group, Lake County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Kenosha County gets the largest, at 19.5%.

CountyDistress scoreScoreRank in its state Poverty rateBenefit checks, share of incomeBenefit checks
Cook County, IL 72 8th of 102 13.7% 16.6%
Kenosha County, WI 37 7th of 72 9.8% 19.5%
Lake County, IL 30 61st of 102 7.8% 10.3%
McHenry County, IL 24 78th of 102 6.3% 15.6%

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 Lake County the poorest county in Illinois?

No, Lake County's poverty rate was 7.8% in 2024, 90th 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, Lake County ranks 61st of 102 in the state.

If you're behind on your mortgage in Lake 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.

Illinois foreclosure guide →

The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.

Download the CSV for Lake County · Every U.S. county (CSV)

Cite this Lake County, Illinois, scores 30 on the County Distress Index (data through Sep 2026): less distressed than 69% of U.S. counties · American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/illinois/lake-county-il/

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 Lake County comes from, 2024.
  • History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.