About one in 12 people in Dearborn County, Indiana, lives below the poverty line
In Dearborn County, 8.6% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 88% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 74% of U.S. counties.
What drives Dearborn County's score
In Dearborn County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 56.3. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 18.8. About one in 11 children (9.5%, 2024) lives below the poverty line, a lower share than in 89% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Dearborn 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.
Dearborn County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 56.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector20.5% · August 202539th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people193.3 · 202573rd percentile
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- 40.4 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 rent17.5% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.3% · fiscal year 202734th percentile
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- 39.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.4% · August 202532nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.1% · August 202563rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score33.2% · second quarter of 202623rd percentile
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- 21.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202616th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.0% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
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- 18.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.6% · 202412th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.5% · 202410th percentile
- People with a disability15.3% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
- People without health insurance4.8% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$89,808 · 202410th 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 Dearborn 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 Dearborn County, 19.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Dearborn County
Indiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Dearborn County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 22.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Dearborn County, Indiana, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Dearborn County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 6.8% in 2010 to 8.0% in 2011.
The share of households in Dearborn County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 5.8% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Dearborn County, Indiana.
How Dearborn County has changed
Dearborn County's population nearly doubled to 51,435, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1989 to 1994, reaching 42,196. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Dearborn County, Indiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Dearborn County rose by more than half to 14,998, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 14,064. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Dearborn County, Indiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.9% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 7.8% | 2024 8.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $30,264 | 2024 $89,808 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.1% 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 Dearborn County's history
1803
In 1803, organized as Dearborn County from remnant of former Northwest Territory ceded from Ohio when Ohio was admitted to Union. Wikipedia
1990
A tornado in June 1990 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 50,679, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1968
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Dearborn County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Dearborn County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Dearborn County, in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Dearborn County ranks 4th of the six; Ohio County is highest, at 28.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton County, OH | 61 | 14.2% | 16.5% |
| Ohio County, IN | 55 | 11.3% | 28.6% |
| Ripley County, IN | 27 | 9.6% | 23.3% |
| Dearborn County, IN | 25 | 8.6% | 22.0% |
| Boone County, KY | 23 | 7.5% | 16.0% |
| Franklin County, IN | 12 | 8.6% | 24.6% |
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 Dearborn County the poorest county in Indiana?
No, Dearborn County's poverty rate was 8.6% in 2024, 76th 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, Dearborn County ranks 67th of 92 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Dearborn 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.
Download the CSV for Dearborn 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 Dearborn County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.