In Dubois County, Indiana, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in seven dollars of the typical household's income
In Dubois County, 15.2% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 96% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 95% of U.S. counties.
What drives Dubois County's score
In Dubois County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 33.5. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 13.9. About one in 13 people (7.7%, 2024) lives below the poverty line, a lower share than in 93% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Dubois 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.
Dubois 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.
- 33.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.8% · August 202510th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people140.1 · 202556th percentile
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- 19.2 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 rent15.6% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.2% · fiscal year 20273rd percentile
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- 16.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.0% · August 202511th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.9% · August 202531st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score26.6% · second quarter of 20265th percentile
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- 15.2 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 20267th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.3% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
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- 13.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.7% · 20246th percentile
- Children below the poverty line8.5% · 20247th percentile
- People with a disability11.8% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
- People without health insurance5.2% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$80,326 · 202420th 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 Dubois 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 Dubois County, 18.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Dubois County
Indiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Dubois County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 18.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Dubois County, Indiana, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 18.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Dubois County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 4.4% in 2017 to 6.0% in 2018.
The share of households in Dubois County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 3.4% 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, Dubois County, Indiana.
How Dubois County has changed
Dubois County's population had its largest rise, from 32,105 in 1974 to 33,765 in 1979.
Dubois County's population rose 42% from 1969 to 2024, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 43,629. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Dubois County, Indiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Dubois County rose by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 27,902, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 29,469 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Dubois County, Indiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.1% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 4.7% | 2024 7.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $32,828 | 2024 $80,326 |
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 Dubois County's history
1818
Formed December 20, 1818 from Orange, Pike and Perry counties. Wikipedia
1818
In 1818, as many as half of Dubois County residents died of milk sickness. Wikipedia
1995
A thunderstorm in July 1995 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 43,637, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1979
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Dubois County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Dubois County beside its neighbors
All eight counties that border Dubois County score higher than it does. Of the group, Dubois County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Crawford County gets the largest, at 36.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crawford County, IN | 69 | 16.4% | 36.0% |
| Orange County, IN | 43 | 13.4% | 34.4% |
| Perry County, IN | 40 | 13.9% | 30.2% |
| Daviess County, IN | 27 | 12.4% | 19.5% |
| Pike County, IN | 24 | 9.0% | 30.4% |
| Martin County, IN | 23 | 12.2% | 27.6% |
| Warrick County, IN | 14 | 6.6% | 18.6% |
| Spencer County, IN | 6 | 10.4% | 24.5% |
| 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 Dubois County the poorest county in Indiana?
No, Dubois County's poverty rate was 7.7% in 2024, 86th 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, Dubois County ranks 91st of 92 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Dubois 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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Dubois Pike Warrick Economic Opportunity Committee, Inc. D/b/a Tri-cap
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Dubois 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 Dubois County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.