Benefit checks make up 37 cents of every dollar of income in Blackford County, Indiana
In Blackford County, 37.0% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 87% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 55% of U.S. counties.
What drives Blackford County's score
In Blackford County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 77.2. Bankruptcy filings ran at 327.9 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 92% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 57.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Blackford 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.
Blackford County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (12.1%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.8%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 77.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector26.2% · August 202561st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people327.9 · 202592nd percentile
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- 57.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.2% · 202441st percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.6% · 202447th percentile
- People with a disability20.3% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- People without health insurance7.5% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,080 · 202467th percentile
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- 56.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.2% · August 202545th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.6% · August 202568th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score41.6% · second quarter of 202654th percentile
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- 46.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202639th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.2% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
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- 30.4 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 rent12.1% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.9% · fiscal year 202741st 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 Blackford 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 Blackford County, 22.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Blackford County
Indiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Blackford County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about five times its 1969 level, but pay from work still brings in 37% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Blackford County, Indiana, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 37.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Blackford County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 17.5% in 2016 to 14.2% in 2017.
The share of households in Blackford County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 12.8% 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, Blackford County, Indiana.
How Blackford County has changed
Blackford County's population had its largest drop, from 15,086 in 1984 to 14,115 in 1989.
Blackford County's population fell by about a quarter to 11,816, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 16,074 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Blackford County, Indiana.
The number of jobs located in Blackford County had its largest drop, from 4,060 in 2005 to 3,318 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Blackford County fell 36% from 1990 to 2025
High on the chart: 4,511 in 1990. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Blackford County, Indiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.9% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.5% | 2024 12.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,721 | 2024 $61,080 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 3.8% 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 Blackford County's history
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 17,213. The 2020 Census counted 12,112, 70% of the peak. Census Bureau
1965
A tornado in April 1965 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Blackford County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Blackford County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Blackford County, three score higher. Of the group, Blackford County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (37.0%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware County, IN | 85 | 20.5% | 31.9% |
| Grant County, IN | 82 | 17.9% | 35.4% |
| Jay County, IN | 62 | 14.7% | 26.2% |
| Blackford County, IN | 55 | 12.2% | 37.0% |
| Wells County, IN | 17 | 8.0% | 23.9% |
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 Blackford County the poorest county in Indiana?
No, Blackford County's poverty rate was 12.2% in 2024, 36th highest of 92 in Indiana (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Delaware County, at 20.5%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Blackford County ranks 27th of 92 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Blackford 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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Indiana Legal Services (ILS)
Legal aid
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Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic
Legal aid
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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 Blackford 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 Blackford County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.