In Piatt County, Illinois, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in seven dollars of the typical household's income
In Piatt County, 15.0% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 94% of U.S. counties.
What drives Piatt County's score
In Piatt County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 34.0. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 9.1. About one in 15 people (6.9%, 2024) lives below the poverty line, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Piatt 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.
Piatt 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.
- 34.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.7% · August 202510th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people143.6 · 202557th percentile
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- 25.4 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 rent17.4% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.0% · fiscal year 20275th or lower percentile
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- 22.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202638th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.0% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
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- 12.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.4% · August 202515th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.4% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.4% · second quarter of 202617th percentile
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- 9.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line6.9% · 20245th or lower percentile
- Children below the poverty line7.6% · 20245th or lower percentile
- People with a disability13.0% · 2020 to 202422nd percentile
- People without health insurance3.3% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$93,892 · 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 Piatt 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 Piatt County, 21.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Piatt County
Illinois
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Piatt County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 18.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than three times as much as benefit checks
In Piatt County, Illinois, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 18.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Piatt County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 5.3% in 2012 to 7.4% in 2013.
The share of households in Piatt County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 3.7% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Piatt County, Illinois.
How Piatt County has changed
Piatt County's population had its largest drop, from 16,305 in 1984 to 15,571 in 1989.
Piatt County's population rose 7% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 16,774 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Piatt County, Illinois.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Piatt County rose 12% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
High on the chart: 3,776 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Piatt County, Illinois.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.7% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 6.3% | 2024 6.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $30,614 | 2024 $93,892 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Piatt County's history
1841
Formed in 1841 from Macon and DeWitt counties. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 17,706. The 2020 Census counted 16,673, 94% of the peak. Census Bureau
1976
A tornado in March 1976 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
A tornado in April 1999 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
A tornado in October 2001 did $2.2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A flash flood in July 2014 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1968
9 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Piatt County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Piatt County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Piatt County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Piatt County ranks 3rd of the seven; Macon County is highest, at 25.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Macon County, IL | 71 | 16.7% | 25.8% |
| Champaign County, IL | 42 | 18.8% | 15.5% |
| McLean County, IL | 21 | 11.6% | 14.9% |
| De Witt County, IL | 17 | 9.9% | 23.6% |
| Moultrie County, IL | 15 | 9.3% | 18.1% |
| Douglas County, IL | 14 | 7.8% | 18.0% |
| Piatt County, IL | 5 | 6.9% | 18.8% |
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 Piatt County the poorest county in Illinois?
No, Piatt County's poverty rate was 6.9% in 2024, 96th 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, Piatt County ranks 98th of 102 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Piatt 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 Piatt County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.