About one in 21 people in Hamilton County, Indiana, lives below the poverty line
In Hamilton County, 4.7% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 97% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hamilton County's score
In Hamilton County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 36.0. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 2.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hamilton 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.
Hamilton 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.
- 36.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.8% · August 20257th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people163.1 · 202564th percentile
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- 23.8 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 rent17.4% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income14.5% · fiscal year 20271st percentile
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- 9.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20267th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working13.8% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
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- 7.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.9% · August 20259th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.7% · August 202510th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score22.3% · second quarter of 20261st percentile
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- 2.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line4.7% · 20240th percentile
- Children below the poverty line4.3% · 20240th percentile
- People with a disability8.0% · 2020 to 20240th percentile
- People without health insurance4.1% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$127,452 · 20241st 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 Hamilton 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 Hamilton County, 13.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hamilton County
Indiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Hamilton County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 8.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about eight times as much as benefit checks
In Hamilton County, Indiana, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 8.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Hamilton County getting SNAP food aid moved most in four steps: 2.3% in 2011 to 2.9% in 2012; 2.9% in 2012 to 3.5% in 2013; 4.0% in 2016 to 3.4% in 2017; 3.0% in 2018 to 2.4% in 2019.
The share of households in Hamilton County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 2.5%
Low on the chart: 1.7% 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, Hamilton County, Indiana.
How Hamilton County has changed
Hamilton County's population had its largest rise, from 175,348 in 1999 to 225,319 in 2004.
Hamilton County's population grew to about seven times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 379,704, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 87,565. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hamilton County, Indiana.
The number of jobs located in Hamilton County had its largest rise in the last span, from 140,001 in 2020 to 167,841 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Hamilton County grew to about four times its 1990 size in 2025, reaching 167,841, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2015 to 2020, reaching 140,001. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hamilton County, Indiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.2% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 3.3% | 2024 4.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $46,673 | 2024 $127,452 |
The table uses 2.9% for 2025; the score uses 2.7% 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 Hamilton County's history
1913
Great Flood of 1913. Wikipedia
1965
A tornado in April 1965 did $25 million in property damage and killed six people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
Lightning in April 1999 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A flood in April 2013 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 347,467, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2021
A thunderstorm in March 2021 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hamilton County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hamilton County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Hamilton County score higher than it does. Of the group, Hamilton County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Madison County gets the largest, at 30.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marion County, IN | 82 | 15.8% | 16.3% |
| Madison County, IN | 76 | 14.6% | 30.5% |
| Clinton County, IN | 30 | 12.6% | 26.0% |
| Tipton County, IN | 24 | 7.8% | 26.7% |
| Hancock County, IN | 12 | 5.8% | 17.5% |
| Boone County, IN | 5 | 5.6% | 9.9% |
| Hamilton County, IN | 2 | 4.7% | 8.5% |
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 Hamilton County the poorest county in Indiana?
No, Hamilton County's poverty rate was 4.7% in 2024, the lowest 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, Hamilton County ranks 92nd of 92 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hamilton 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 Hamilton 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 Hamilton County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.