Benefit checks make up 36 cents of every dollar of income in Crawford County, Indiana
In Crawford County, 36.0% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 85% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 69% of U.S. counties.
What drives Crawford County's score
In Crawford County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 69.3. Bankruptcy filings ran at 201.2 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 75% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 66.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Crawford 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.
Crawford County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a credit card behind (4.8%, August 2025) and people with a car or retail loan behind (4.6%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 69.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector26.9% · August 202563rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people201.2 · 202575th percentile
-
- 66.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.4% · 202472nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.8% · 202478th percentile
- People with a disability18.1% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- People without health insurance7.0% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,088 · 202470th percentile
-
- 64.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202645th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.8% · 2020 to 202484th percentile
-
- 57.1 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 rent21.3% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.3% · fiscal year 202745th percentile
-
- 47.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.8% · August 202539th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.6% · August 202541st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.3% · second quarter of 202661st 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 Crawford 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 Crawford County, 20.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Crawford County
Indiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Crawford County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 36.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Crawford County, Indiana, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Crawford County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 18.7% in 2015 to 16.3% in 2016.
The share of households in Crawford County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 11.7%
Low on the chart: 11.5% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Crawford County, Indiana.
How Crawford County has changed
Crawford County's population had its largest rise, from 8,810 in 1974 to 9,642 in 1979.
Crawford County's population rose by about a third from 1969 to 2024, reaching 10,523
High on the chart: 11,029 in 2004. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Crawford County, Indiana.
The number of jobs located in Crawford County had its largest rise, from 1,639 in 1995 to 2,080 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Crawford County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 12% since
High on the chart: 2,234 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Crawford County, Indiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.5% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.2% | 2024 16.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,291 | 2024 $60,088 |
The table uses 4.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Crawford County's history
1818
Formed January 5, 1818 from land in Harrison, Orange, and Perry counties. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 13,476. The 2020 Census counted 10,526, 78% of the peak. Census Bureau
2004
A tornado in May 2004 did $5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A flood in April 2017 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1974
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Crawford County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Crawford County beside its neighbors
Crawford County scores higher than all six counties that border it, in Indiana and Kentucky. Of the group, Crawford County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (36.0%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crawford County, IN | 69 | 16.4% | 36.0% |
| Washington County, IN | 56 | 14.8% | 26.6% |
| Meade County, KY | 47 | 9.8% | 23.3% |
| Orange County, IN | 43 | 13.4% | 34.4% |
| Perry County, IN | 40 | 13.9% | 30.2% |
| Harrison County, IN | 23 | 8.9% | 23.8% |
| Dubois County, IN | 4 | 7.7% | 18.6% |
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 Crawford County the poorest county in Indiana?
No, Crawford County's poverty rate was 16.4% in 2024, 7th 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, Crawford County ranks 10th of 92 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Crawford 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 Crawford 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 Crawford County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.