Benefit checks make up 36 cents of every dollar of income in Starke County, Indiana
In Starke County, 35.7% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 84% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 56% of U.S. counties.
What drives Starke County's score
In Starke County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 73.8. Bankruptcy filings ran at 280.1 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 88% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 66.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Starke 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.
Starke County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (18.1%, fiscal year 2027) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (14.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 73.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector25.6% · August 202558th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people280.1 · 202588th percentile
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- 66.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202658th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.0% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
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- 55.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.0% · August 202559th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.0% · August 202547th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.6% · second quarter of 202658th percentile
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- 51.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.2% · 202432nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.1% · 202445th percentile
- People with a disability19.7% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- People without health insurance7.8% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$67,134 · 202448th percentile
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- 25.2 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 rent14.1% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.1% · fiscal year 202722nd 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 Starke 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 Starke County, 20.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Starke County
Indiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Starke County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 35.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Starke County, Indiana, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Starke County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 15.8% in 2014 to 13.5% in 2015.
The share of households in Starke County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 11.1% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Starke County, Indiana.
How Starke County has changed
Starke County's population had its largest rise, from 19,171 in 1969 to 20,901 in 1974.
Starke County's population rose by about a quarter from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23,463
High on the chart: 23,538 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Starke County, Indiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Starke County fell 6% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 2015 and 2020
High on the chart: 4,655 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Starke County, Indiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.1% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.5% | 2024 11.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,976 | 2024 $67,134 |
The table uses 4.8% for 2025; the score uses 4.3% 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 Starke County's history
1835
February 7, 1835 (authorized) 1850 (organized). Wikipedia
1838
Potawatomi were forcibly removed to Kansas by the United States government in 1838. Wikipedia
1965
A tornado in April 1965 did $25 million in property damage and killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 23,556. The 2020 Census counted 23,371, 99% of the peak. Census Bureau
2009
A flood in March 2009 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A flood in February 2018 did $1.2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
A thunderstorm in June 2021 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Starke County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Starke County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Starke County, two score higher. Of the group, Starke County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (35.7%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Joseph County, IN | 63 | 15.4% | 22.1% |
| LaPorte County, IN | 63 | 13.6% | 26.3% |
| Starke County, IN | 56 | 11.2% | 35.7% |
| Pulaski County, IN | 32 | 12.0% | 25.7% |
| Jasper County, IN | 32 | 10.1% | 22.9% |
| Marshall County, IN | 27 | 12.1% | 23.3% |
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 Starke County the poorest county in Indiana?
No, Starke County's poverty rate was 11.2% in 2024, 50th 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, Starke County ranks 25th of 92 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Starke 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 Starke 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 Starke County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.