Unemployment in Daviess County, Indiana, is lower than in 91% of U.S. counties
In Daviess County, 2.8% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 91% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 72% of U.S. counties.
What drives Daviess County's score
In Daviess County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 52.1. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 27.5. About one in six people with a credit file (16.4%, August 2025) has unpaid debt sent to a collector, a lower share than in 75% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Daviess 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, Daviess County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (21.9%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 52.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.4% · 202443rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.4% · 202440th percentile
- People with a disability14.3% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- People without health insurance21.9% · 2020 to 202497th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$68,390 · 202444th percentile
-
- 42.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.9% · August 202540th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.9% · August 202546th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score37.6% · second quarter of 202640th percentile
-
- 34.6 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 rent15.8% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.1% · fiscal year 202733rd percentile
-
- 28.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20268th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.5% · 2020 to 202448th percentile
-
- 27.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector16.4% · August 202524th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people89.1 · 202530th 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 Daviess 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 Daviess County, 16.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Daviess County
Indiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Daviess County rose most sharply from its first year (8.7% in 1969) to 12.7% in 1974.
In Daviess County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 19.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than three times as much as benefit checks
In Daviess County, Indiana, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 19.5%; 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 Daviess County getting SNAP food aid rose by about a third to 10.3%, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2019 and 2020
Biggest rise: 2019 to 2020, reaching 9.8%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Daviess County, Indiana.
How Daviess County has changed
Daviess County's population rose 28% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 28,520. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Daviess County, Indiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Daviess County rose by about half to 13,307, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 13,307. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Daviess County, Indiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.9% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.9% | 2024 12.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,798 | 2024 $68,390 |
The table uses 2.9% for 2025; the score uses 2.8% 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 Daviess County's history
1818
Authorized February 2, 1818. Wikipedia
1990
A tornado in June 1990 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
A tornado in November 2005 did $11.6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flood in June 2008 did $20 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 33,381, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
-
Since 1968
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Daviess County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Daviess County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Daviess County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Daviess County ranks 5th of the six; Knox County is highest, at 31.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greene County, IN | 51 | 13.8% | 28.9% |
| Knox County, IN | 46 | 11.9% | 31.1% |
| Daviess County, IN | 27 | 12.4% | 19.5% |
| Pike County, IN | 24 | 9.0% | 30.4% |
| Martin County, IN | 23 | 12.2% | 27.6% |
| 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 Daviess County the poorest county in Indiana?
No, Daviess County's poverty rate was 12.4% in 2024, 33rd 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, Daviess County ranks 65th of 92 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Daviess 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 Daviess 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 Daviess County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.