About one in four adults aged 25 to 54 in Newton County, Indiana, is not working
In Newton County, 25.5% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 75% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 51% of U.S. counties.
What drives Newton County's score
In Newton County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 71.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 272.2 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 87% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 56.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Newton 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.
Newton County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a car or retail loan behind (3.1%, August 2025) and people without health insurance (5.0%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 71.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector24.3% · August 202554th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people272.2 · 202587th percentile
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- 56.3 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 202636th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.5% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
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- 52.0 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 rent16.9% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.8% · fiscal year 202761st percentile
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- 43.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.3% · August 202563rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.1% · August 202514th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score40.6% · second quarter of 202651st percentile
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- 32.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.9% · 202421st percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.3% · 202429th percentile
- People with a disability18.6% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- People without health insurance5.0% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$78,688 · 202422nd 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 Newton 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 Newton County, 20.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Newton County
Indiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Newton County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 24.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Newton County, Indiana, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Newton County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply after its 2010 low, from 5.9% in 2010 to 9.0% in 2011.
The share of households in Newton County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 5.9% 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, Newton County, Indiana.
How Newton County has changed
Newton County's population rose by about a fifth from 1969 to 2024, reaching 14,131, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979
High on the chart: 14,596 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Newton County, Indiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Newton County fell by about a fifth from 1990 to 2025, reaching 3,240, with most of the change between 2005 and 2010
High on the chart: 4,239 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Newton County, Indiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.4% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.1% | 2024 9.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,436 | 2024 $78,688 |
The table uses 4.1% 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 Newton County's history
1835
Formed February 7, 1835; abolished 1839; re-organized December 8, 1859. Wikipedia
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 14,844. The 2020 Census counted 13,830, 93% of the peak. Census Bureau
1987
A tornado in July 1987 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flash flood in January 2008 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flood in September 2008 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2026
A tornado in March 2026 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Newton County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Newton County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Newton County, in Indiana and Illinois, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Newton County ranks 5th of the six; Iroquois County is highest, at 27.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake County, IN | 81 | 13.3% | 24.7% |
| Kankakee County, IL | 69 | 13.1% | 27.2% |
| Benton County, IN | 52 | 9.8% | 24.6% |
| Newton County, IN | 51 | 9.9% | 24.2% |
| Jasper County, IN | 32 | 10.1% | 22.9% |
| Iroquois County, IL | 26 | 10.4% | 27.7% |
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 Newton County the poorest county in Indiana?
No, Newton County's poverty rate was 9.9% in 2024, 63rd 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, Newton County ranks 29th of 92 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Newton 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 Newton 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 Newton County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.