Unemployment in Wabash County, Indiana, is lower than in 81% of U.S. counties
In Wabash County, 3.2% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 81% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 70% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wabash County's score
In Wabash County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 58.5. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 19.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Wabash 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.
Wabash County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 58.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.5% · August 202566th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.5% · August 202567th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score37.8% · second quarter of 202641st percentile
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- 56.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector20.5% · August 202539th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people195.6 · 202573rd percentile
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- 31.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.7% · 202428th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.2% · 202423rd percentile
- People with a disability15.4% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- People without health insurance4.8% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$68,224 · 202445th percentile
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- 24.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202618th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.5% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
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- 19.2 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 rent11.9% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.8% · fiscal year 202719th 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 Wabash 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 Wabash County, 21.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wabash County
Indiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Wabash County had its largest rise, from 20.4% in 2004 to 29.5% in 2009.
In Wabash County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 30.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Wabash County, Indiana, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 30.7%; 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 Wabash County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 7.1%
Biggest drop: 2023 to 2024, reaching 7.1%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Wabash County, Indiana.
How Wabash County has changed
Wabash County's population had its largest drop, from 34,131 in 2004 to 33,036 in 2009.
Wabash County's population fell 13% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 36,231 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Wabash County, Indiana.
The number of jobs located in Wabash County fell most sharply after its 2000 high, from 14,738 in 2000 to 13,213 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Wabash County fell by about a fifth from 1990 to 2020, reaching 11,442, then turned up in 2025
High on the chart: 14,738 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wabash County, Indiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.1% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 7.6% | 2024 10.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,831 | 2024 $68,224 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.2% 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 Wabash County's history
1820
January 1820; organized 1835. Wikipedia
1870
Wabash County Courthouse and most of downtown destroyed by fire in 1870. Wikipedia
1968
A tornado in May 1968 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 36,640. The 2020 Census counted 30,976, 85% of the peak. Census Bureau
1998
A flash flood in July 1998 did $6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flood in May 2019 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1999
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wabash County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Wabash County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Wabash County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Wabash County ranks 3rd of the seven; Grant County is highest, at 35.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grant County, IN | 82 | 17.9% | 35.4% |
| Fulton County, IN | 60 | 11.8% | 27.0% |
| Miami County, IN | 60 | 12.7% | 30.7% |
| Kosciusko County, IN | 32 | 9.7% | 20.2% |
| Wabash County, IN | 29 | 10.7% | 30.7% |
| Huntington County, IN | 25 | 8.8% | 26.8% |
| 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 Wabash County the poorest county in Indiana?
No, Wabash County's poverty rate was 10.7% in 2024, 55th 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, Wabash County ranks 60th of 92 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wabash 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 Wabash 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 Wabash County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.