About one in nine people with a credit file in Menard County, Illinois, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Menard County, 11.3% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 86% of U.S. counties.
What drives Menard County's score
In Menard County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 44.0. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 18.9. About one in 45 people (2.2%, 2020 to 2024) has no health insurance, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Menard 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.
Menard County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 44.0 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202665th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.2% · 2020 to 202422nd percentile
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- 28.7 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 rent18.2% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.9% · fiscal year 20277th percentile
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- 24.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.5% · August 202518th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.9% · August 202530th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score33.5% · second quarter of 202623rd percentile
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- 23.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.3% · August 20256th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people108.8 · 202540th percentile
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- 18.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.4% · 202410th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.2% · 202418th percentile
- People with a disability16.1% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- People without health insurance2.2% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$93,131 · 20248th 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 Menard 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 Menard County, 20.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Menard County
Illinois
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Menard County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 22.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Menard County, Illinois, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Menard County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 11.8% in 2022 to 13.7% in 2023.
The share of households in Menard County getting SNAP food aid doubled to 14.5%, the highest on the chart
Low on the chart: 6.5% 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, Menard County, Illinois.
How Menard County has changed
Menard County's population had its largest rise, from 9,664 in 1969 to 10,560 in 1974.
Menard County's population rose 28% from 1969 to 2019, then turned down in 2024
High on the chart: 12,720 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Menard County, Illinois.
The number of jobs located in Menard County had its largest rise, from 1,679 in 1990 to 2,099 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Menard County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 15% since
High on the chart: 2,187 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Menard County, Illinois.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.1% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 7.6% | 2024 8.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $29,525 | 2024 $93,131 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 Menard County's history
1839
Formed in 1839 out of Sangamon County. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 14,336. The 2020 Census counted 12,297, 86% of the peak. Census Bureau
1996
A flash flood in May 1996 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A tornado in December 2010 did $12 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
12 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Menard County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Menard County beside its neighbors
All four counties that border Menard County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Menard County ranks 4th of the five; Mason County is highest, at 30.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mason County, IL | 56 | 13.5% | 30.5% |
| Sangamon County, IL | 39 | 9.7% | 21.5% |
| Logan County, IL | 39 | 11.3% | 27.4% |
| Cass County, IL | 38 | 12.1% | 26.2% |
| 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 Menard County the poorest county in Illinois?
No, Menard County's poverty rate was 8.4% in 2024, 85th 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, Menard County ranks 92nd of 102 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Menard 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 Menard 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 Menard County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.