In Pulaski County, Illinois, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2023
In 2024, 46 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 84% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pulaski County's score
In Pulaski County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 92.5. People with a credit card behind: 10.2%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 87.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pulaski 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.
Pulaski County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (8.6%, 2020 to 2024) and people without health insurance (4.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 92.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind10.2% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.9% · August 202594th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score54.0% · second quarter of 202687th percentile
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- 87.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202694th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.0% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
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- 77.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line21.7% · 202491st percentile
- Children below the poverty line34.9% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability25.8% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance4.7% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$49,770 · 202491st percentile
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- 57.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector25.0% · August 202556th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people142.5 · 202557th percentile
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- 38.0 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 rent8.6% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.4% · fiscal year 202766th 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 Pulaski 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 Pulaski County, 23.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pulaski County
Illinois
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Pulaski County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Illinois
In Pulaski County, Illinois, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 45.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Pulaski County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 19.9% in 2021 to 23.0% in 2022.
The share of households in Pulaski County getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 22.9%, with its low point on the chart in 2021
Low on the chart: 19.9% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Pulaski County, Illinois.
How Pulaski County has changed
Pulaski County's population fell most sharply after its 1979 high, from 9,326 in 1979 to 8,349 in 1984.
Pulaski County's population fell by about half to 4,879, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 9,326 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pulaski County, Illinois.
The number of jobs located in Pulaski County had its largest rise, from 1,556 in 1990 to 2,196 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Pulaski County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and is down 44% since
High on the chart: 2,196 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pulaski County, Illinois.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.9% | 2025 6.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 27.5% | 2024 21.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,005 | 2024 $49,770 |
The table uses 6.0% for 2025; the score uses 6.2% 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 Pulaski County's history
1843
Pulaski County was formed on March 3, 1843, out of parts of Alexander and Johnson counties. Wikipedia
1862
Mound City Naval Station established 1862 with shipyard and marine ways. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 15,875. The 2020 Census counted 5,193, 33% of the peak. Census Bureau
2003
A tornado in May 2003 did $3.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flood in March 2008 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A flood in January 2015 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A thunderstorm in June 2019 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pulaski County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pulaski County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Pulaski County, in Illinois and Kentucky, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Pulaski County ranks 2nd of the seven; Alexander County is highest, at 53.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander County, IL | 89 | 24.8% | 53.2% |
| Pulaski County, IL | 84 | 21.7% | 45.8% |
| McCracken County, KY | 66 | 13.9% | 23.7% |
| Ballard County, KY | 64 | 15.9% | 29.1% |
| Union County, IL | 55 | 17.2% | 35.6% |
| Massac County, IL | 42 | 15.2% | 36.2% |
| Johnson County, IL | 29 | 14.6% | 30.8% |
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 Pulaski County the poorest county in Illinois?
No, Pulaski County's poverty rate was 21.7% in 2024, 2nd 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, Pulaski County ranks 2nd of 102 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pulaski 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 Pulaski 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 Pulaski County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.