In Logan County, Illinois, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Logan County, 16.9% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 87% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 60% of U.S. counties.
What drives Logan County's score
In Logan County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 56.1. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 28.1. About one in 38 people (2.6%, 2020 to 2024) has no health insurance, a lower share than in 98% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Logan 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, Logan County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (4.8%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 56.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.5% · August 202551st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people152.2 · 202560th percentile
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- 55.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.2% · August 202561st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.7% · August 202557th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.7% · second quarter of 202648th percentile
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- 47.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202677th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.2% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
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- 34.0 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 rent19.0% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.9% · fiscal year 202712th percentile
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- 28.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.3% · 202433rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.1% · 202423rd percentile
- People with a disability14.7% · 2020 to 202437th percentile
- People without health insurance2.6% · 2020 to 20241st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$68,362 · 202444th 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 Logan 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 Logan County, 19.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Logan County
Illinois
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Logan County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 27.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Logan County, Illinois, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Logan County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 15.2% in 2021 to 17.4% in 2022.
The share of households in Logan County getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled to 18.4%, the highest on the chart
Low on the chart: 10.0% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Logan County, Illinois.
How Logan County has changed
Logan County's population fell by about a fifth to 27,518, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2014 to 2019, reaching 28,191. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Logan County, Illinois.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Logan County fell by about a third to 7,636, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1990 to 1995, reaching 9,856. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Logan County, Illinois.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.3% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.1% | 2024 11.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,834 | 2024 $68,362 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Logan County's history
1951
A tornado in June 1951 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1960
The county's largest recorded population was the 1960 Census count of 33,656. The 2020 Census counted 27,987, 83% of the peak. Census Bureau
1995
Hail in May 1995 did $12 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1995
A tornado in May 1995 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
Lincoln Developmental Center closed in 2002. Wikipedia
2009
A flood in October 2009 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1968
12 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Logan County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Logan County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Logan County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Logan County ranks 2nd of the eight; Mason County is highest, at 30.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Macon County, IL | 71 | 16.7% | 25.8% |
| Mason County, IL | 56 | 13.5% | 30.5% |
| Sangamon County, IL | 39 | 9.7% | 21.5% |
| Logan County, IL | 39 | 11.3% | 27.4% |
| Tazewell County, IL | 25 | 8.3% | 21.4% |
| McLean County, IL | 21 | 11.6% | 14.9% |
| De Witt County, IL | 17 | 9.9% | 23.6% |
| Menard County, IL | 13 | 8.4% | 22.8% |
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 Logan County the poorest county in Illinois?
No, Logan County's poverty rate was 11.3% in 2024, 60th 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, Logan County ranks 46th of 102 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Logan 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.
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 Logan County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.