Unemployment in Kosciusko County, Indiana, is lower than in 83% of U.S. counties
In Kosciusko County, 3.1% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 83% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 67% of U.S. counties.
What drives Kosciusko County's score
In Kosciusko County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 63.1. Jobs are the lowest part, at 21.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Kosciusko 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, Kosciusko County is worse off than most counties on bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (297.4, 2025) and people without health insurance (11.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 63.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector19.1% · August 202535th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people297.4 · 202590th percentile
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- 46.8 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 rent21.9% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.0% · fiscal year 202721st percentile
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- 35.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.7% · 202419th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.5% · 202425th percentile
- People with a disability13.8% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- People without health insurance11.7% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$77,464 · 202424th percentile
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- 34.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.0% · August 202525th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.5% · August 202540th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score36.6% · second quarter of 202635th percentile
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- 21.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202615th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.0% · 2020 to 202427th 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 Kosciusko 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 Kosciusko County, 18.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Kosciusko County
Indiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Kosciusko County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 20.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Kosciusko County, Indiana, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Kosciusko County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 5.2%
Biggest drop: 2019 to 2020, reaching 5.9%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Kosciusko County, Indiana.
How Kosciusko County has changed
Kosciusko County's population had its largest rise, from 52,998 in 1974 to 58,662 in 1979.
Kosciusko County's population nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 80,669, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 80,669. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Kosciusko County, Indiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Kosciusko County rose by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 35,757, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 37,145 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Kosciusko County, Indiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.6% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 6.4% | 2024 9.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $31,442 | 2024 $77,464 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.1% 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 Kosciusko County's history
1835
February 7, 1835 (authorized) 1836 (organized). Wikipedia
1974
A tornado in April 1974 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A tornado in October 2007 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A thunderstorm in May 2009 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A thunderstorm in July 2014 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 80,240, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1974
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Kosciusko County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Kosciusko County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Kosciusko County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Kosciusko County ranks 6th of the seven; Wabash County is highest, at 30.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fulton County, IN | 60 | 11.8% | 27.0% |
| Elkhart County, IN | 56 | 10.8% | 19.4% |
| Kosciusko County, IN | 32 | 9.7% | 20.2% |
| Wabash County, IN | 29 | 10.7% | 30.7% |
| Noble County, IN | 28 | 9.8% | 23.0% |
| Marshall County, IN | 27 | 12.1% | 23.3% |
| Whitley County, IN | 15 | 8.2% | 22.1% |
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 Kosciusko County the poorest county in Indiana?
No, Kosciusko County's poverty rate was 9.7% in 2024, 66th 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, Kosciusko County ranks 55th of 92 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Kosciusko 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 Kosciusko 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 Kosciusko County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.