About one in 10 people in Jasper County, Indiana, lives below the poverty line
In Jasper County, 10.1% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 76% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 67% of U.S. counties.
What drives Jasper County's score
In Jasper County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 58.8. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 29.6. People with a car or retail loan behind: 3.5%, August 2025, lower than in 74% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Jasper 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, Jasper County is worse off than most counties on bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (214.7, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 58.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector20.4% · August 202539th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people214.7 · 202578th percentile
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- 45.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202633rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.8% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
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- 35.8 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 rent11.7% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.0% · fiscal year 202753rd percentile
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- 30.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.1% · 202423rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.1% · 202423rd percentile
- People with a disability16.6% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- People without health insurance5.5% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$76,990 · 202425th percentile
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- 29.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.6% · August 202535th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.5% · August 202525th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score34.6% · second quarter of 202627th 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 Jasper 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 Jasper County, 18.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Jasper County
Indiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Jasper County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 22.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Jasper County, Indiana, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Jasper County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2022 low, from 6.1% in 2021 to 4.3% in 2022.
The share of households in Jasper County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 4.3% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Jasper County, Indiana.
How Jasper County has changed
Jasper County's population nearly doubled to 33,387, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 25,472. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Jasper County, Indiana.
The number of jobs located in Jasper County had its largest rise, from 8,078 in 1990 to 9,704 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Jasper County rose 41% from 1990 to 2025
High on the chart: 11,855 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Jasper County, Indiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.3% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 7.7% | 2024 10.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $29,305 | 2024 $76,990 |
The table uses 3.9% for 2025; the score uses 3.6% 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 Jasper County's history
1963
A tornado in April 1963 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1976
A tornado in March 1976 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flash flood in January 2008 did $1 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flood in February 2008 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 33,478. The 2020 Census counted 32,918, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1991
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Jasper County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Jasper County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Jasper County, six score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Jasper County ranks 7th of the eight; Starke County is highest, at 35.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake County, IN | 81 | 13.3% | 24.7% |
| Starke County, IN | 56 | 11.2% | 35.7% |
| Benton County, IN | 52 | 9.8% | 24.6% |
| Newton County, IN | 51 | 9.9% | 24.2% |
| Porter County, IN | 33 | 8.5% | 18.6% |
| White County, IN | 33 | 12.1% | 26.8% |
| Pulaski County, IN | 32 | 12.0% | 25.7% |
| Jasper County, IN | 32 | 10.1% | 22.9% |
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 Jasper County the poorest county in Indiana?
No, Jasper County's poverty rate was 10.1% in 2024, 62nd 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, Jasper County ranks 57th of 92 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Jasper 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 Jasper 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 Jasper County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.