About one in six people in Wayne County, Indiana, lives below the poverty line
In Wayne County, 18.3% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 81% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 84% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wayne County's score
In Wayne County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 80.3. The typical household earns $53,395 a year (2024), less than in 85% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 77.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Wayne 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.
Wayne County does better than most counties on one measure: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.5%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.3% · 202481st percentile
- Children below the poverty line25.8% · 202483rd percentile
- People with a disability19.7% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- People without health insurance10.8% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$53,395 · 202485th percentile
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- 77.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.3% · August 202565th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people281.3 · 202588th percentile
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- 72.3 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 rent22.4% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.8% · fiscal year 202769th percentile
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- 71.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.1% · August 202574th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.8% · August 202570th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.7% · second quarter of 202668th percentile
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- 52.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202628th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.4% · 2020 to 202475th 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 Wayne 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 Wayne County, 19.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wayne County
Indiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Wayne County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about five times its 1969 level, reaching 31.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Wayne County, Indiana, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 31.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Wayne County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 14.9% in 2018 to 12.9% in 2019.
The share of households in Wayne County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 15.1%
Low on the chart: 11.5% 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, Wayne County, Indiana.
How Wayne County has changed
Wayne County's population fell most sharply after its 1974 high, from 78,811 in 1974 to 76,348 in 1979.
Wayne County's population fell 16% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 78,811 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Wayne County, Indiana.
The number of jobs located in Wayne County had its largest drop, from 35,923 in 2000 to 31,688 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Wayne County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 35,923 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wayne County, Indiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.4% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.6% | 2024 18.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,380 | 2024 $53,395 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Wayne County's history
1811
Formed 1811 from portions of Clark and Dearborn counties. Wikipedia
1961
A tornado in April 1961 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1970
The county's largest recorded population was the 1970 Census count of 79,109. The 2020 Census counted 66,553, 84% of the peak. Census Bureau
1992
A tornado in November 1992 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A flash flood in June 1998 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1991
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wayne County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Wayne County beside its neighbors
Wayne County scores higher than all six counties that border it, in Indiana and Ohio. For the share of income from benefit checks, Wayne County ranks 3rd of the seven; Fayette County is highest, at 38.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne County, IN | 84 | 18.3% | 31.8% |
| Fayette County, IN | 81 | 16.2% | 38.6% |
| Randolph County, IN | 58 | 15.8% | 28.7% |
| Henry County, IN | 50 | 14.5% | 32.1% |
| Preble County, OH | 33 | 10.4% | 27.6% |
| Darke County, OH | 27 | 11.6% | 22.8% |
| Union County, IN | 23 | 11.3% | 29.3% |
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 Wayne County the poorest county in Indiana?
No, Wayne County's poverty rate was 18.3% in 2024, 2nd 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, Wayne County ranks 2nd of 92 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wayne 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.
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 Wayne County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.