About three in ten people with a credit file in Cass County, Indiana, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Cass County, 29.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 72% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 58% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cass County's score
In Cass County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 74.7. People with a credit card behind: 8.4%, August 2025, higher than in 87% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 73.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cass 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.
Cass County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (12.7%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (19.6%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 74.7 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.4% · August 202587th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.0% · August 202572nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score44.3% · second quarter of 202664th percentile
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- 73.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.7% · August 202572nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people193.8 · 202573rd percentile
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- 53.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.7% · 202454th percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.5% · 202466th percentile
- People with a disability15.6% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
- People without health insurance6.6% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,153 · 202463rd percentile
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- 46.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202638th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.4% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
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- 29.3 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 rent12.7% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.6% · fiscal year 202737th 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 Cass 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 Cass County, 18.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cass County
Indiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Cass County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 31.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Cass County, Indiana, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 31.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Cass County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 11.2% in 2017 to 9.7% in 2018.
The share of households in Cass County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 8.1% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Cass County, Indiana.
How Cass County has changed
Cass County's population had its largest rise, from 39,261 in 1994 to 40,729 in 1999.
Cass County's population fell 7% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 40,984 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cass County, Indiana.
The number of jobs located in Cass County had its largest rise, from 15,314 in 1995 to 17,826 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Cass County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 17,826 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cass County, Indiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.6% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.9% | 2024 13.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,634 | 2024 $62,153 |
The table uses 4.2% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Cass County's history
1829
Formed in 1829. Wikipedia
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 40,936. The 2020 Census counted 37,870, 93% of the peak. Census Bureau
2003
A flash flood in July 2003 did $1.25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cass County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cass County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Cass County, three score higher. Of the group, Cass County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (31.9%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Howard County, IN | 80 | 13.6% | 30.5% |
| Fulton County, IN | 60 | 11.8% | 27.0% |
| Miami County, IN | 60 | 12.7% | 30.7% |
| Cass County, IN | 58 | 13.7% | 31.9% |
| White County, IN | 33 | 12.1% | 26.8% |
| Pulaski County, IN | 32 | 12.0% | 25.7% |
| Carroll County, IN | 18 | 9.0% | 21.8% |
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 Cass County the poorest county in Indiana?
No, Cass County's poverty rate was 13.7% in 2024, 23rd 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, Cass County ranks 20th of 92 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cass 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 Cass County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.