About one in nine people in Clinton County, Indiana, has a disability
In Clinton County, 11.3% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 90% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 69% of U.S. counties.
What drives Clinton County's score
In Clinton County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 65.2. Jobs are the lowest part, at 17.2. Unemployment averaged 2.9%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, lower than in 89% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Clinton 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, Clinton County is worse off than most counties on bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (216.9, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 65.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.5% · August 202551st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people216.9 · 202578th percentile
-
- 46.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.0% · August 202541st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.9% · August 202545th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score41.0% · second quarter of 202653rd percentile
-
- 39.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.6% · 202445th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.4% · 202451st percentile
- People with a disability11.3% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- People without health insurance7.7% · 2020 to 202448th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$68,732 · 202443rd percentile
-
- 25.6 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 rent13.3% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.6% · fiscal year 202727th percentile
-
- 17.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202610th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.5% · 2020 to 202424th percentile
-
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 Clinton 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 Clinton County, 16.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Clinton County
Indiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Clinton County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 26.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Clinton County, Indiana, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Clinton County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 8.1% in 2020 to 6.7% in 2021.
The share of households in Clinton 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: 6.4% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Clinton County, Indiana.
How Clinton County has changed
Clinton County's population rose 7% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1989 and 1994
High on the chart: 33,642 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Clinton County, Indiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Clinton County rose 13% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 11,875 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Clinton County, Indiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.5% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.6% | 2024 12.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,825 | 2024 $68,732 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 2.9% 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 Clinton County's history
1953
A tornado in April 1953 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1990
A thunderstorm in June 1990 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
A thunderstorm in July 1996 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 33,866. The 2020 Census counted 33,190, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau
2000
Hail in May 2000 did $15 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1965
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Clinton County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Clinton County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Clinton County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Clinton County ranks 4th of the eight; Howard County is highest, at 30.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Howard County, IN | 80 | 13.6% | 30.5% |
| Tippecanoe County, IN | 42 | 16.8% | 17.8% |
| Montgomery County, IN | 36 | 10.3% | 26.0% |
| Clinton County, IN | 30 | 12.6% | 26.0% |
| Tipton County, IN | 24 | 7.8% | 26.7% |
| Carroll County, IN | 18 | 9.0% | 21.8% |
| Boone County, IN | 5 | 5.6% | 9.9% |
| Hamilton County, IN | 2 | 4.7% | 8.5% |
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 Clinton County the poorest county in Indiana?
No, Clinton County's poverty rate was 12.6% in 2024, 32nd 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, Clinton County ranks 59th of 92 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Clinton 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.
-
Indiana Legal Services (ILS)
Legal aid
-
Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic
Legal aid
-
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 Clinton 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 Clinton County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.