About one in 10 people in Sangamon County, Illinois, lives below the poverty line
In Sangamon County, 9.7% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 80% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 60% of U.S. counties.
What drives Sangamon County's score
In Sangamon County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 56.1. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 20.0. About one in 28 people (3.6%, 2020 to 2024) has no health insurance, a lower share than in 94% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Sangamon 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, Sangamon County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (22.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 56.1 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202670th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.4% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
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- 53.1 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 rent22.7% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.8% · fiscal year 202729th percentile
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- 46.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector20.9% · August 202541st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people128.7 · 202551st percentile
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- 45.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.3% · August 202547th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.1% · August 202549th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score37.4% · second quarter of 202639th percentile
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- 20.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.7% · 202419th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.4% · 202424th percentile
- People with a disability13.6% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- People without health insurance3.6% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$78,931 · 202422nd 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 Sangamon 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 Sangamon County, 19.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Sangamon County
Illinois
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Sangamon County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 21.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Sangamon County, Illinois, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Sangamon County getting SNAP food aid rose most in two steps: 10.9% in 2012 to 11.9% in 2013; 13.2% in 2020 to 14.2% in 2021.
The share of households in Sangamon County getting SNAP food aid rose by more than half to 15.5%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2012 to 2013, reaching 11.9%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Sangamon County, Illinois.
How Sangamon County has changed
Sangamon County's population had its largest rise, from 177,649 in 1989 to 189,337 in 1994.
Sangamon County's population rose by about a fifth from 1969 to 2024, reaching 194,345
High on the chart: 200,170 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Sangamon County, Illinois.
The number of jobs located in Sangamon County had its largest drop, from 144,446 in 2000 to 130,927 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Sangamon County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 144,446 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Sangamon County, Illinois.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.5% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.0% | 2024 9.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $30,386 | 2024 $78,931 |
The table uses 4.4% for 2025; the score uses 4.5% 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 Sangamon County's history
1821
Formed in 1821 out of Madison and Bond counties. Wikipedia
1838
Potawatomi Trail of Death passed through Springfield 1838. Wikipedia
1957
A tornado in June 1957 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1963
A tornado in April 1963 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A tornado in August 2009 did $11 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 197,465. The 2020 Census counted 196,343, 99% of the peak. Census Bureau
2014
A flash flood in August 2014 did $11.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1974
12 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Sangamon County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Sangamon County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Sangamon County, two score higher. Of the group, Sangamon County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Christian County gets the largest, at 28.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Macon County, IL | 71 | 16.7% | 25.8% |
| Macoupin County, IL | 41 | 10.6% | 28.5% |
| Sangamon County, IL | 39 | 9.7% | 21.5% |
| Logan County, IL | 39 | 11.3% | 27.4% |
| Cass County, IL | 38 | 12.1% | 26.2% |
| Christian County, IL | 35 | 12.2% | 28.6% |
| Montgomery County, IL | 35 | 14.6% | 27.9% |
| Morgan County, IL | 32 | 14.1% | 28.4% |
| 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 Sangamon County the poorest county in Illinois?
No, Sangamon County's poverty rate was 9.7% in 2024, 74th 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, Sangamon County ranks 45th of 102 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Sangamon 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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Springfield Housing Authority
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Sangamon 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 Sangamon County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.