In Floyd County, Indiana, benefit checks make up only 20 cents of every dollar of income
In Floyd County, 20.1% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 78% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 65% of U.S. counties.
What drives Floyd County's score
In Floyd County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 64.9. Jobs are the lowest part, at 27.5. Unemployment averaged 3.3%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, lower than in 76% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Floyd 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, Floyd County is worse off than most counties on bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (221.5, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 64.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.1% · August 202549th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people221.5 · 202580th percentile
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- 56.7 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 rent21.6% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.1% · fiscal year 202742nd percentile
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- 28.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.8% · August 202522nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.0% · August 202533rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.3% · second quarter of 202630th percentile
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- 27.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.2% · 202423rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.6% · 202425th percentile
- People with a disability15.7% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- People without health insurance4.6% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$76,310 · 202426th percentile
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- 27.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202623rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.7% · 2020 to 202431st 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 Floyd 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 Floyd County, 17.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Floyd County
Indiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Floyd County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 20.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Floyd County, Indiana, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Floyd County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 10.0% in 2016 to 8.8% in 2017.
The share of households in Floyd County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 7.2% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Floyd County, Indiana.
How Floyd County has changed
Floyd County's population had its largest rise, from 63,137 in 1989 to 68,359 in 1994.
Floyd County's population rose by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 81,931, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1999 to 2004, reaching 71,465. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Floyd County, Indiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Floyd County nearly doubled to 33,012, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 25,205. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Floyd County, Indiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.8% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.2% | 2024 10.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,734 | 2024 $76,310 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.3% 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 Floyd County's history
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 80,484, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1974
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Floyd County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Floyd County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Floyd County, in Indiana and Kentucky, three score higher. Of the group, Floyd County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Washington County gets the largest, at 26.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County, KY | 69 | 14.6% | 20.1% |
| Washington County, IN | 56 | 14.8% | 26.6% |
| Clark County, IN | 48 | 10.5% | 22.7% |
| Floyd County, IN | 34 | 10.2% | 20.1% |
| Harrison County, IN | 23 | 8.9% | 23.8% |
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 Floyd County the poorest county in Indiana?
No, Floyd County's poverty rate was 10.2% in 2024, 61st 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, Floyd County ranks 51st of 92 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Floyd 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.
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 Floyd County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.