About one in 11 people in Brown County, Indiana, lives below the poverty line
In Brown County, 9.3% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 83% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 68% of U.S. counties.
What drives Brown County's score
In Brown County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 66.6. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 25.2. About one in 23 people (4.3%, 2020 to 2024) has no health insurance, a lower share than in 88% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Brown 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, Brown County is worse off than most counties on people with a car or retail loan behind (7.2%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 66.6 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent19.7% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.4% · fiscal year 202773rd percentile
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- 42.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector15.4% · August 202520th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people166.1 · 202565th percentile
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- 36.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.0% · August 202510th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.2% · August 202575th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score33.5% · second quarter of 202623rd percentile
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- 26.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202617th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.2% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
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- 25.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.3% · 202417th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.4% · 202429th percentile
- People with a disability15.5% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- People without health insurance4.3% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$78,954 · 202421st 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 Brown 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 Brown County, 26.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Brown County
Indiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Brown County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 25.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Brown County, Indiana, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 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 Brown County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 5.6% in 2011 to 8.8% in 2012.
The share of households in Brown County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 4.9% 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, Brown County, Indiana.
How Brown County has changed
Brown County's population nearly doubled to 15,650, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 12,049. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Brown County, Indiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Brown County rose 36% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 3,291. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Brown County, Indiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.3% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.0% | 2024 9.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,156 | 2024 $78,954 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.2% 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 Brown County's history
1836
February 4, 1836 (created) August 1836 (organized). Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 15,475, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1968
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Brown County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Brown County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Brown County, four score higher. Of the group, Brown County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (25.9%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan County, IN | 49 | 9.4% | 23.1% |
| Bartholomew County, IN | 39 | 8.4% | 17.7% |
| Jackson County, IN | 39 | 11.3% | 22.4% |
| Monroe County, IN | 35 | 16.8% | 18.0% |
| Brown County, IN | 31 | 9.3% | 25.9% |
| Johnson County, IN | 24 | 7.3% | 17.3% |
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 Brown County the poorest county in Indiana?
No, Brown County's poverty rate was 9.3% in 2024, 70th 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, Brown County ranks 58th of 92 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Brown 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.
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 Brown County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.