About one in 12 people in Tazewell County, Illinois, lives below the poverty line
In Tazewell County, 8.3% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 90% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 74% of U.S. counties.
What drives Tazewell County's score
In Tazewell County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 45.7. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 16.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Tazewell 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.
Tazewell County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 45.7 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202671st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.7% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
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- 44.5 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 rent20.1% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.5% · fiscal year 202726th percentile
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- 41.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.8% · August 202529th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people134.3 · 202553rd percentile
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- 28.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.0% · August 202525th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.1% · August 202533rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score34.3% · second quarter of 202626th percentile
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- 16.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.3% · 202410th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.3% · 202410th percentile
- People with a disability12.5% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
- People without health insurance5.1% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$78,573 · 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 Tazewell 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 Tazewell County, 19.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Tazewell County
Illinois
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Tazewell County rose most in two steps: 8.5% in 1979 to 12.4% in 1984; 14.8% in 2004 to 18.7% in 2009.
In Tazewell County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 21.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Tazewell County, Illinois, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 21.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Tazewell County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply after its 2019 high, from 11.1% in 2019 to 10.0% in 2020.
The share of households in Tazewell County getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 10.4%
High on the chart: 11.1% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Tazewell County, Illinois.
How Tazewell County has changed
Tazewell County's population rose 11% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1969 and 1974
High on the chart: 135,511 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Tazewell County, Illinois.
The number of jobs located in Tazewell County fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 56,483 in 2015 to 44,153 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Tazewell County was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 58,058 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Tazewell County, Illinois.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.8% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 7.4% | 2024 8.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $29,617 | 2024 $78,573 |
The table uses 4.5% for 2025; the score uses 4.6% 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 Tazewell County's history
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 135,394. The 2020 Census counted 131,343, 97% of the peak. Census Bureau
2013
A flash flood in April 2013 did $31.4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A flood in May 2013 did $21.7 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A tornado in November 2013 did $910 million in property damage and killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A tornado in November 2013 did $45 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Tazewell County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Tazewell County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Tazewell County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Tazewell County ranks 4th of the seven; Fulton County is highest, at 30.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peoria County, IL | 69 | 15.3% | 21.0% |
| Mason County, IL | 56 | 13.5% | 30.5% |
| Fulton County, IL | 41 | 14.0% | 30.7% |
| Logan County, IL | 39 | 11.3% | 27.4% |
| Tazewell County, IL | 25 | 8.3% | 21.4% |
| McLean County, IL | 21 | 11.6% | 14.9% |
| Woodford County, IL | 5 | 5.5% | 16.9% |
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 Tazewell County the poorest county in Illinois?
No, Tazewell County's poverty rate was 8.3% in 2024, 87th 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, Tazewell County ranks 75th of 102 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Tazewell 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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Prairie State Legal Services
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 Tazewell 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 Tazewell County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.