In Scott County, Illinois, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Scott County, 15.9% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 66% of U.S. counties.
What drives Scott County's score
In Scott County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 69.5. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 7.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Scott 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, Scott County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (4.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and people with a car or retail loan behind (7.1%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 69.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.0% · August 202573rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.1% · August 202575th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.8% · second quarter of 202659th percentile
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- 62.2 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 202676th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.3% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
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- 39.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.0% · 202440th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.5% · 202446th percentile
- People with a disability15.6% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
- People without health insurance5.5% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,164 · 202440th percentile
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- 22.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.7% · August 202517th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people84.9 · 202528th percentile
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- 7.6 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 rent8.1% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.9% · fiscal year 20276th 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 Scott 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 Scott County, 23.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Scott County
Illinois
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Scott County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 23.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Scott County, Illinois, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Scott County getting SNAP food aid more than doubled to 16.2%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2012 to 2013, reaching 13.2%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Scott County, Illinois.
How Scott County has changed
Scott County's population had its largest drop, from 6,151 in 1979 to 5,894 in 1984.
Scott County's population fell by about a fifth to 4,880, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 6,273 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Scott County, Illinois.
The number of jobs located in Scott County had its largest drop, from 1,778 in 2000 to 1,321 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Scott County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about half
High on the chart: 1,778 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Scott County, Illinois.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.8% | 2025 4.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.1% | 2024 12.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,393 | 2024 $70,164 |
The table uses 4.9% for 2025; the score uses 4.7% 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 Scott County's history
1839
Formed in 1839 out of Morgan County. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 10,455. The 2020 Census counted 4,949, 47% of the peak. Census Bureau
2004
A tornado in May 2004 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Scott County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Scott County beside its neighbors
Of the three counties that border Scott County, one scores higher. Of the group, Scott County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Greene County gets the largest, at 29.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pike County, IL | 46 | 13.5% | 28.1% |
| Scott County, IL | 33 | 12.0% | 23.2% |
| Morgan County, IL | 32 | 14.1% | 28.4% |
| Greene County, IL | 30 | 14.0% | 29.5% |
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 Scott County the poorest county in Illinois?
No, Scott County's poverty rate was 12.0% in 2024, 56th 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, Scott County ranks 57th of 102 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Scott 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 Scott County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.