In Spencer County, Indiana, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Spencer County, 15.9% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 93% of U.S. counties.
What drives Spencer County's score
In Spencer County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 48.3. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 10.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Spencer 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, Spencer County is worse off than most counties on bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (221, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 48.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.5% · August 202516th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people221 · 202579th percentile
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- 25.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.4% · 202425th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.6% · 202431st percentile
- People with a disability14.2% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- People without health insurance4.7% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$76,789 · 202425th percentile
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- 13.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.4% · August 202516th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.6% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score32.4% · second quarter of 202620th percentile
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- 11.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202612th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working13.9% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
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- 10.3 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 rent10.7% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.9% · fiscal year 20276th 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 Spencer 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 Spencer County, 20.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Spencer County
Indiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Spencer County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 24.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Spencer County, Indiana, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Spencer County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 7.9% in 2019 to 6.4% in 2020.
The share of households in Spencer County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 6.4% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Spencer County, Indiana.
How Spencer County has changed
Spencer County's population had its largest rise, from 17,956 in 1974 to 19,349 in 1979.
Spencer County's population rose by about a fifth from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20,192
High on the chart: 20,992 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Spencer County, Indiana.
The number of jobs located in Spencer County had its largest rise, from 6,839 in 1995 to 8,045 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Spencer County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 15% since
High on the chart: 8,045 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Spencer County, Indiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.2% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.5% | 2024 10.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,609 | 2024 $76,789 |
The table uses 3.3% for 2025; the score uses 3.0% 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 Spencer County's history
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 22,407. The 2020 Census counted 19,810, 88% of the peak. Census Bureau
2004
A flash flood in May 2004 did $1.1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
Cleveland-Cliffs Rockport Works reported by EPA in 2013 as source of 70% of pollution in Ohio River. Wikipedia
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Since 1979
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Spencer County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Spencer County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Spencer County, in Indiana and Kentucky, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Spencer County ranks 3rd of the six; Perry County is highest, at 30.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daviess County, KY | 46 | 14.2% | 28.8% |
| Perry County, IN | 40 | 13.9% | 30.2% |
| Hancock County, KY | 37 | 12.5% | 24.1% |
| Warrick County, IN | 14 | 6.6% | 18.6% |
| Spencer County, IN | 6 | 10.4% | 24.5% |
| Dubois County, IN | 4 | 7.7% | 18.6% |
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 Spencer County the poorest county in Indiana?
No, Spencer County's poverty rate was 10.4% in 2024, 57th 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, Spencer County ranks 89th of 92 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Spencer 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 Spencer 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 Spencer County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.