About one in 21 people in Monroe County, Illinois, lives below the poverty line
In Monroe County, 4.7% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Monroe County's score
In Monroe County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 24.9. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 2.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Monroe 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.
Monroe 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.
- 24.9 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 rent17.6% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income14.9% · fiscal year 20272nd percentile
-
- 12.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector9.1% · August 20252nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people74.4 · 202521st percentile
-
- 6.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202612th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working8.3% · 2020 to 20241st percentile
-
- 6.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.9% · August 202510th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.7% · August 20253rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score25.4% · second quarter of 20263rd percentile
-
- 2.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line4.7% · 20240th percentile
- Children below the poverty line4.1% · 20240th percentile
- People with a disability10.6% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
- People without health insurance2.5% · 2020 to 20241st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$108,674 · 20243rd 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 Monroe 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 Monroe County, 19.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Monroe County
Illinois
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Monroe County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 16.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Monroe County, Illinois, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 16.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Monroe County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 4.3% in 2021 to 6.1% in 2022.
The share of households in Monroe County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2022 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 2.6% 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, Monroe County, Illinois.
How Monroe County has changed
Monroe County's population had its largest rise, from 27,247 in 1999 to 30,422 in 2004.
Monroe County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34,969, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 34,969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Monroe County, Illinois.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Monroe County doubled to 8,577, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 6,973. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Monroe County, Illinois.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.9% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 3.9% | 2024 4.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $33,940 | 2024 $108,674 |
The table uses 3.0% for 2025; the score uses 2.9% 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 Monroe County's history
1816
Formed in 1816 out of Randolph and St. Clair counties. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 34,962, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
-
Since 1969
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Monroe County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Monroe County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Monroe County, in Illinois and Missouri, score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Monroe County ranks 5th of the six; Randolph County is highest, at 30.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Clair County, IL | 67 | 12.7% | 25.9% |
| Randolph County, IL | 40 | 14.7% | 30.3% |
| St. Louis County, MO | 40 | 9.8% | 13.1% |
| Jefferson County, MO | 27 | 9.3% | 21.9% |
| Ste. Genevieve County, MO | 11 | 9.8% | 25.5% |
| Monroe County, IL | 0 | 4.7% | 16.7% |
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 Monroe County the poorest county in Illinois?
No, Monroe County's poverty rate was 4.7% in 2024, 101st 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, Monroe County ranks 102nd of 102 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Monroe 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.
-
Land of Lincoln Legal Aid
Legal aid
-
Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO)
Legal help website
-
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 Monroe 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 Monroe County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.