In Warren County, Indiana, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in seven dollars of the typical household's income
In Warren County, 14.8% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 88% of U.S. counties.
What drives Warren County's score
In Warren County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 41.4. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 7.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Warren 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, Warren County is worse off than most counties on people with a credit card behind (7.6%, August 2025) and people with a disability (19.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 41.4 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.6% · August 202579th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.5% · August 20259th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score36.4% · second quarter of 202634th percentile
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- 39.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector18.5% · August 202532nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people117.4 · 202545th percentile
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- 27.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.4% · 202410th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.3% · 202424th percentile
- People with a disability19.1% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- People without health insurance3.9% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$81,984 · 202417th percentile
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- 13.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202610th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.2% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
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- 7.7 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 rent9.1% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income14.8% · fiscal year 20275th or lower 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 Warren 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 Warren County, 21.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Warren County
Indiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Warren County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 22.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Warren County, Indiana, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Warren County getting SNAP food aid fell most in two steps: 9.5% in 2009 to 7.8% in 2010; 9.1% in 2018 to 7.4% in 2019.
The share of households in Warren County getting SNAP food aid fell by about a quarter from 2009 to 2024, reaching 7.4%, with its low point on the chart in 2021
Low on the chart: 6.2% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Warren County, Indiana.
How Warren County has changed
Warren County's population fell most sharply after its 1979 high, from 9,023 in 1979 to 8,516 in 1984.
Warren County's population was about the same in 2024 as in 1969
High on the chart: 9,023 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Warren County, Indiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Warren County rose 15% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
High on the chart: 1,980 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Warren County, Indiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.5% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.1% | 2024 8.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,960 | 2024 $81,984 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 2.9% 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 Warren County's history
1838
About 860 Potawatomi forced to move from Indiana to Kansas in 1838, with over 40 dying in transit. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 11,371. The 2020 Census counted 8,440, 74% of the peak. Census Bureau
1953
A tornado in April 1953 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1974
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Warren County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Warren County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Warren County, in Indiana and Illinois, score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Warren County ranks 5th of the six; Vermillion County is highest, at 33.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vermilion County, IL | 73 | 17.3% | 30.9% |
| Vermillion County, IN | 62 | 13.3% | 33.1% |
| Benton County, IN | 52 | 9.8% | 24.6% |
| Tippecanoe County, IN | 42 | 16.8% | 17.8% |
| Fountain County, IN | 22 | 11.4% | 29.7% |
| Warren County, IN | 11 | 8.4% | 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 Warren County the poorest county in Indiana?
No, Warren County's poverty rate was 8.4% in 2024, 80th 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, Warren County ranks 88th of 92 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Warren 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 Warren 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 Warren County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.