About three in ten people with a credit file in St. Clair County, Illinois, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In St. Clair County, 28.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 69% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 67% of U.S. counties.
What drives St. Clair County's score
In St. Clair County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 71.2. Bankruptcy filings ran at 192 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 72% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 69.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in St. Clair 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.
St. Clair County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (5.1%, 2020 to 2024) and median household income ($78,110, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 71.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector28.6% · August 202569th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people192 · 202572nd percentile
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- 69.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.8% · August 202570th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.4% · August 202577th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.3% · second quarter of 202661st percentile
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- 66.4 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 rent23.9% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.7% · fiscal year 202750th percentile
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- 57.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202669th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.0% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
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- 36.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.7% · 202446th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.8% · 202448th percentile
- People with a disability15.2% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- People without health insurance5.1% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$78,110 · 202423rd 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 St. Clair 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 St. Clair County, 17.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
St. Clair County
Illinois
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In St. Clair County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 25.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In St. Clair County, Illinois, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in St. Clair County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 15.2% in 2022 to 16.4% in 2023.
The share of households in St. Clair County getting SNAP food aid rose from 2009 to 2024, reaching 16.2%
High on the chart: 16.4% in 2016. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, St. Clair County, Illinois.
How St. Clair County has changed
St. Clair County's population fell 12% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2004 to 2009, reaching 268,489. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, St. Clair County, Illinois.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in St. Clair County rose by about a fifth from 1990 to 2025, reaching 89,192, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 93,533 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, St. Clair County, Illinois.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.4% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.7% | 2024 12.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,890 | 2024 $78,110 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in St. Clair County's history
1790
Established in 1790 by proclamation of Arthur St. Clair, first governor of the Northwest Territory. The first county established in present-day Illinois, antedating Illinois' existence as a separate jurisdiction. Wikipedia
1956
A tornado in February 1956 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed six people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1958
A tornado in April 1958 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1968
A tornado in May 1968 killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1970
The county's largest recorded population was the 1970 Census count of 285,176. The 2020 Census counted 257,400, 90% of the peak. Census Bureau
1989
A thunderstorm in November 1989 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1968
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered St. Clair County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
St. Clair County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border St. Clair County, in Illinois and Missouri, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, St. Clair County ranks 2nd of the eight; Randolph County is highest, at 30.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis city, MO | 93 | 21.8% | 22.4% |
| St. Clair County, IL | 67 | 12.7% | 25.9% |
| Randolph County, IL | 40 | 14.7% | 30.3% |
| Madison County, IL | 40 | 9.6% | 22.8% |
| St. Louis County, MO | 40 | 9.8% | 13.1% |
| Clinton County, IL | 5 | 8.0% | 21.2% |
| Washington County, IL | 4 | 7.3% | 23.1% |
| Monroe County, IL | 0 | 4.7% | 16.7% |
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 St. Clair County the poorest county in Illinois?
No, St. Clair County's poverty rate was 12.7% in 2024, 49th 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, St. Clair County ranks 12th of 102 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in St. Clair 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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Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis - St. Clair County Operations
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 St. Clair 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 St. Clair County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.