In Pike County, Illinois, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Pike County, 17.1% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 85% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 53% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pike County's score
In Pike County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 59.5. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 36.8. Bankruptcy filings ran at 83.7 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 72% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pike 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, Pike County is worse off than most counties on people with a credit card behind (8.5%, August 2025) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (4.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 59.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.5% · August 202587th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.5% · August 202539th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score40.4% · second quarter of 202651st percentile
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- 56.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202675th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.8% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
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- 47.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.5% · 202452nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.9% · 202443rd percentile
- People with a disability17.1% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- People without health insurance5.7% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,396 · 202453rd percentile
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- 40.4 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 rent20.9% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.1% · fiscal year 202714th percentile
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- 36.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.2% · August 202546th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people83.7 · 202527th 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 Pike 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 Pike County, 21.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pike County
Illinois
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Pike County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 28.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Pike County, Illinois, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Pike County getting SNAP food aid made its largest gain on the way to its 2017 high, from 14.3% in 2016 to 16.9% in 2017.
The share of households in Pike County getting SNAP food aid rose by more than half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 15.9%
High on the chart: 16.9% in 2017. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Pike County, Illinois.
How Pike County has changed
Pike County's population had its largest drop, from 18,788 in 1984 to 17,732 in 1989.
Pike County's population fell by about a quarter to 14,258, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 19,447 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pike County, Illinois.
The number of jobs located in Pike County rose most sharply from its first year (3,668 in 1990) to 4,274 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Pike County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 12% since
High on the chart: 4,340 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pike County, Illinois.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.6% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.7% | 2024 13.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,695 | 2024 $65,396 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Pike County's history
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 31,595. The 2020 Census counted 14,739, 47% of the peak. Census Bureau
1961
A tornado in May 1961 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
Lightning in October 2014 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A flash flood in July 2015 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
A flash flood in May 2020 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pike County, 18 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pike County beside its neighbors
Of the nine counties that border Pike County, in Illinois and Missouri, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Pike County ranks 5th of the 10; Marion County is highest, at 32.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pike County, MO | 58 | 15.9% | 31.8% |
| Marion County, MO | 55 | 14.1% | 32.0% |
| Pike County, IL | 46 | 13.5% | 28.1% |
| Adams County, IL | 33 | 13.3% | 23.6% |
| Scott County, IL | 33 | 12.0% | 23.2% |
| Morgan County, IL | 32 | 14.1% | 28.4% |
| Greene County, IL | 30 | 14.0% | 29.5% |
| Brown County, IL | 28 | 13.8% | 21.1% |
| Ralls County, MO | 22 | 8.5% | 26.2% |
| Calhoun County, IL | 15 | 10.0% | 27.3% |
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 Pike County the poorest county in Illinois?
No, Pike County's poverty rate was 13.5% in 2024, 39th 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, Pike County ranks 30th of 102 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pike 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 Pike County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.