Unemployment in Clark County, Indiana, is lower than in 74% of U.S. counties
In Clark County, 3.4% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 74% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 51% of U.S. counties.
What drives Clark County's score
In Clark County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 79.9. Jobs are the lowest part, at 26.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Clark 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, Clark County is worse off than most counties on bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (313.2, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 79.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector28.0% · August 202567th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people313.2 · 202592nd percentile
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- 57.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.0% · August 202559th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.6% · August 202556th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score41.9% · second quarter of 202655th percentile
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- 49.6 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 rent18.0% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.7% · fiscal year 202750th percentile
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- 33.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.5% · 202426th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.7% · 202426th percentile
- People with a disability15.6% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
- People without health insurance6.7% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$74,005 · 202430th percentile
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- 26.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202625th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.2% · 2020 to 202428th 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 Clark 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 Clark County, 16.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Clark County
Indiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Clark County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 22.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Clark County, Indiana, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 22.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Clark County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 9.0% in 2017 to 7.7% in 2018.
The share of households in Clark County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 7.0% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Clark County, Indiana.
How Clark County has changed
Clark County's population nearly doubled to 127,479, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2004 to 2009, reaching 109,067. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Clark County, Indiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Clark County nearly doubled to 59,952, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 59,952. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Clark County, Indiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.7% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.6% | 2024 10.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,735 | 2024 $74,005 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% 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 Clark County's history
1801
Formed February 3, 1801 from Knox County, with territory annexed from the first county formed in the Territory in 1790. Wikipedia
1940
Indiana Arsenal opened Charlestown 1940, employed 20,000 during World War II. Wikipedia
1974
A tornado in April 1974 did $250 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A tornado in January 2008 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
A tornado in March 2012 did $55 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A flood in July 2015 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
Jeffboat (Jeffersonville Boat and Machine Company) closed 2018, end of 200 years of shipbuilding. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 121,093, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1974
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Clark County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Clark County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Clark County, in Indiana and Kentucky, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Clark County ranks 5th of the eight; Scott County is highest, at 31.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County, KY | 69 | 14.6% | 20.1% |
| Scott County, IN | 68 | 15.0% | 31.4% |
| Washington County, IN | 56 | 14.8% | 26.6% |
| Trimble County, KY | 53 | 12.5% | 28.5% |
| Clark County, IN | 48 | 10.5% | 22.7% |
| Jefferson County, IN | 48 | 14.2% | 29.7% |
| Floyd County, IN | 34 | 10.2% | 20.1% |
| Oldham County, KY | 4 | 6.0% | 11.3% |
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 Clark County the poorest county in Indiana?
No, Clark County's poverty rate was 10.5% in 2024, 56th 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, Clark County ranks 36th of 92 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Clark 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 Clark County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.