In Whiteside County, Illinois, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Whiteside County, 16.8% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 88% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 64% of U.S. counties.
What drives Whiteside County's score
In Whiteside County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 53.1. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 23.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Whiteside 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.
Whiteside 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.
- 53.1 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.7% · August 202554th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.3% · August 202552nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score40.7% · second quarter of 202652nd percentile
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- 48.3 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 202673rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.2% · 2020 to 202422nd percentile
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- 47.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector19.1% · August 202535th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people150.5 · 202560th percentile
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- 33.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.0% · 202422nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.5% · 202436th percentile
- People with a disability15.2% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- People without health insurance5.0% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$67,711 · 202447th percentile
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- 23.6 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 rent15.7% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.8% · fiscal year 202711th 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 Whiteside 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 Whiteside County, 21.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Whiteside County
Illinois
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Whiteside County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 27.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Whiteside County, Illinois, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 27.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Whiteside County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 10.4% in 2013 to 11.8% in 2014.
The share of households in Whiteside County getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled to 14.1%, the highest on the chart
Low on the chart: 8.5% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Whiteside County, Illinois.
How Whiteside County has changed
Whiteside County's population fell most sharply after its 1979 high, from 66,265 in 1979 to 62,828 in 1984.
Whiteside County's population fell 13% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 66,265 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Whiteside County, Illinois.
The number of jobs located in Whiteside County had its largest drop, from 23,513 in 2000 to 20,975 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Whiteside County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 14% since
High on the chart: 23,513 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Whiteside County, Illinois.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.5% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.4% | 2024 10.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,714 | 2024 $67,711 |
The table uses 4.6% 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 Whiteside County's history
1836
Organized in 1836 from parts of Jo Daviess and Henry counties. Whiteside County's boundaries have remained unchanged since its creation in 1836. Wikipedia
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 65,970. The 2020 Census counted 55,691, 84% of the peak. Census Bureau
1981
A tornado in March 1981 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1990
A tornado in March 1990 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Whiteside County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Whiteside County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Whiteside County, in Illinois and Iowa, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Whiteside County ranks 2nd of the eight; Carroll County is highest, at 29.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Island County, IL | 53 | 12.6% | 24.7% |
| Clinton County, IA | 40 | 13.0% | 27.5% |
| Whiteside County, IL | 35 | 10.0% | 27.8% |
| Lee County, IL | 28 | 11.5% | 26.2% |
| Carroll County, IL | 25 | 14.6% | 29.2% |
| Ogle County, IL | 23 | 9.6% | 21.9% |
| Bureau County, IL | 18 | 9.2% | 26.0% |
| Henry County, IL | 18 | 9.4% | 21.7% |
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 Whiteside County the poorest county in Illinois?
No, Whiteside County's poverty rate was 10.0% in 2024, 69th 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, Whiteside County ranks 52nd of 102 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Whiteside 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 Whiteside 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 Whiteside County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.