Unemployment in Clay County, Indiana, is lower than in 79% of U.S. counties
In Clay County, 3.2% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 79% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 58% of U.S. counties.
What drives Clay County's score
In Clay County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 69.8. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 32.3. About one in eight renters (13.1%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 77% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Clay 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, Clay County is worse off than most counties on bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (223, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 69.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector25.6% · August 202558th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people223 · 202580th percentile
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- 45.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.0% · 202440th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.2% · 202450th percentile
- People with a disability17.6% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- People without health insurance6.0% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$69,967 · 202441st percentile
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- 44.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.5% · August 202533rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.8% · August 202544th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.1% · second quarter of 202656th percentile
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- 32.6 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 202619th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.9% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
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- 32.3 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 rent13.1% · 2020 to 202422nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.0% · fiscal year 202742nd 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 Clay 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 Clay County, 18.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Clay County
Indiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Clay County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 32.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Clay County, Indiana, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Clay County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2023 to 2024, reaching 7.8%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Clay County, Indiana.
How Clay County has changed
Clay County's population rose most from 24,712 in 1989 to 26,496 in 1999, 892 each step.
Clay County's population rose 10% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 27,015 in 2004. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Clay County, Indiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Clay County rose 28% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 7,771 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Clay County, Indiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.9% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.8% | 2024 12.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,301 | 2024 $69,967 |
The table uses 3.6% 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 Clay County's history
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 34,285. The 2020 Census counted 26,466, 77% of the peak. Census Bureau
2008
A flood in June 2008 did $45 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1959
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Clay County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Clay County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Clay County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Clay County ranks 2nd of the seven; Sullivan County is highest, at 33.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vigo County, IN | 82 | 18.3% | 30.7% |
| Greene County, IN | 51 | 13.8% | 28.9% |
| Sullivan County, IN | 51 | 14.2% | 33.5% |
| Parke County, IN | 48 | 13.9% | 29.9% |
| Clay County, IN | 41 | 12.0% | 32.1% |
| Owen County, IN | 37 | 12.2% | 30.0% |
| Putnam County, IN | 19 | 10.9% | 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 Clay County the poorest county in Indiana?
No, Clay County's poverty rate was 12.0% in 2024, 41st 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, Clay County ranks 44th of 92 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Clay 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 Clay County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.