About one in six people in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, has a disability
In Vanderburgh County, 17.1% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 59% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 57% of U.S. counties.
What drives Vanderburgh County's score
In Vanderburgh County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 72.0. Bankruptcy filings ran at 247.5 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 84% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 65.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Vanderburgh 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.
Vanderburgh County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.3%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and adults 25 to 54 not working (17.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 72.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector25.7% · August 202559th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people247.5 · 202584th percentile
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- 65.5 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 rent22.5% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.2% · fiscal year 202755th percentile
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- 57.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.1% · August 202560th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.5% · August 202553rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.2% · second quarter of 202657th 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 line12.8% · 202446th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.7% · 202447th percentile
- People with a disability17.1% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- People without health insurance6.9% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$63,717 · 202458th percentile
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- 27.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202622nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.7% · 2020 to 202431st 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 Vanderburgh 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 Vanderburgh County, 18.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Vanderburgh County
Indiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Vanderburgh County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 24.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Vanderburgh County, Indiana, benefit checks' share of income tripled 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 Vanderburgh County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 12.1% in 2018 to 10.7% in 2019.
The share of households in Vanderburgh County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 11.2%
Low on the chart: 9.8% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Vanderburgh County, Indiana.
How Vanderburgh County has changed
Vanderburgh County's population rose most sharply after its 1989 low, from 165,004 in 1989 to 169,695 in 1994.
Vanderburgh County's population rose 7% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 181,104 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Vanderburgh County, Indiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Vanderburgh County rose 15% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 109,800 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Vanderburgh County, Indiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.3% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.8% | 2024 12.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,112 | 2024 $63,717 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.3% 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 Vanderburgh County's history
1818
January 7, 1818, from Gibson, Posey and Warrick counties. Wikipedia
2005
A tornado in November 2005 did $15 million in property damage and killed 20 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A thunderstorm in May 2014 did $35 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A flood in March 2015 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 180,136, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2020
Lightning in July 2020 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1991
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Vanderburgh County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Vanderburgh County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Vanderburgh County, in Indiana and Kentucky, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Vanderburgh County ranks 2nd of the five; Henderson County is highest, at 28.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henderson County, KY | 63 | 15.7% | 28.2% |
| Vanderburgh County, IN | 57 | 12.8% | 24.5% |
| Gibson County, IN | 21 | 10.3% | 23.8% |
| Warrick County, IN | 14 | 6.6% | 18.6% |
| Posey County, IN | 13 | 8.6% | 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 Vanderburgh County the poorest county in Indiana?
No, Vanderburgh County's poverty rate was 12.8% in 2024, 30th 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, Vanderburgh County ranks 21st of 92 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Vanderburgh 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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Community Action Program of Evansville & Vanderburgh County, Inc
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Hope of Evansville, Inc
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Vanderburgh 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 Vanderburgh County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.