Benefit checks make up 35 cents of every dollar of income in Grant County, Indiana
In Grant County, 35.4% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 83% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Grant County's score
In Grant County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 81.2. Bankruptcy filings ran at 271.9 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 87% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 73.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Grant 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.
Grant County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and people without health insurance (6.8%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.3% · August 202574th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people271.9 · 202587th percentile
-
- 73.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.9% · 202479th percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.3% · 202476th percentile
- People with a disability20.4% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
- People without health insurance6.8% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$52,314 · 202487th percentile
-
- 71.5 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 rent21.5% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.3% · fiscal year 202773rd percentile
-
- 68.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.0% · August 202584th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.3% · August 202551st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.6% · second quarter of 202668th percentile
-
- 51.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202637th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.2% · 2020 to 202464th 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 Grant 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 Grant 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
Grant County
Indiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Grant County had its largest rise, from 23.4% in 2004 to 30.1% in 2009.
In Grant County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about five times its 1969 level, reaching 35.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Grant County, Indiana, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 35.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Grant County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply after its 2010 low, from 11.4% in 2010 to 13.5% in 2011.
The share of households in Grant County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 13.8%
Low on the chart: 11.4% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Grant County, Indiana.
How Grant County has changed
Grant County's population had its largest drop, from 81,204 in 1979 to 77,491 in 1984.
Grant County's population fell by about a fifth to 66,458, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 83,309 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Grant County, Indiana.
The number of jobs located in Grant County had its largest drop, from 30,119 in 2000 to 26,795 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Grant County fell 17% from 1990 to 2020, then turned up in 2025
High on the chart: 31,711 in 1990. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Grant County, Indiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.5% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.6% | 2024 17.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,504 | 2024 $52,314 |
The table uses 4.2% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Grant County's history
1831
Formed in 1831 by settlers from Kentucky and Virginia. Wikipedia
1956
A tornado in March 1956 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1965
A tornado in April 1965 did $250 million in property damage and killed eight people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1970
The county's largest recorded population was the 1970 Census count of 83,955. The 2020 Census counted 66,674, 79% of the peak. Census Bureau
1998
A tornado in June 1998 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2004
Thomson SA Marion facility shuttered. Wikipedia
2013
A flood in January 2013 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1965
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Grant County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Grant County beside its neighbors
Of the nine counties that border Grant County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Grant County ranks 2nd of the 10; Blackford County is highest, at 37.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware County, IN | 85 | 20.5% | 31.9% |
| Grant County, IN | 82 | 17.9% | 35.4% |
| Howard County, IN | 80 | 13.6% | 30.5% |
| Madison County, IN | 76 | 14.6% | 30.5% |
| Miami County, IN | 60 | 12.7% | 30.7% |
| Blackford County, IN | 55 | 12.2% | 37.0% |
| Wabash County, IN | 29 | 10.7% | 30.7% |
| Huntington County, IN | 25 | 8.8% | 26.8% |
| Tipton County, IN | 24 | 7.8% | 26.7% |
| Wells County, IN | 17 | 8.0% | 23.9% |
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 Grant County the poorest county in Indiana?
No, Grant County's poverty rate was 17.9% in 2024, 4th 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, Grant County ranks 4th of 92 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Grant 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.
-
The Affordable Housing Corporation of Marion, Indiana
HUD-approved housing counselor
-
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.
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 Grant County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.