Unemployment in Wells County, Indiana, is lower than in 93% of U.S. counties
In Wells County, 2.7% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wells County's score
In Wells County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 56.6. Jobs are the lowest part, at 14.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Wells 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, Wells County is worse off than most counties on bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (220.6, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 56.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector18.7% · August 202533rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people220.6 · 202579th percentile
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- 37.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.4% · August 202531st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.9% · August 202559th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score32.5% · second quarter of 202621st percentile
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- 22.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.0% · 20248th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.3% · 202414th percentile
- People with a disability12.7% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- People without health insurance6.9% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$76,864 · 202425th percentile
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- 20.3 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 rent13.7% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.2% · fiscal year 202715th percentile
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- 14.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20266th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.1% · 2020 to 202422nd 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 Wells 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 Wells County, 18.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wells County
Indiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Wells County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 23.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Wells County, Indiana, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 23.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Wells County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 6.5% in 2009 to 8.5% in 2010.
The share of households in Wells County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 5.8%
Low on the chart: 4.6% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Wells County, Indiana.
How Wells County has changed
Wells County's population rose by about a quarter to 28,798, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 25,120. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Wells County, Indiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Wells County rose by about a fifth from 1990 to 2025, reaching 11,160, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
High on the chart: 11,926 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wells County, Indiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.3% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 5.1% | 2024 8.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $30,617 | 2024 $76,864 |
The table uses 2.9% for 2025; the score uses 2.7% 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 Wells County's history
1965
A tornado in April 1965 did $25 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1974
A tornado in April 1974 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 28,180, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wells County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Wells County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Wells County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Wells County ranks 5th of the seven; Blackford County is highest, at 37.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grant County, IN | 82 | 17.9% | 35.4% |
| Jay County, IN | 62 | 14.7% | 26.2% |
| Blackford County, IN | 55 | 12.2% | 37.0% |
| Allen County, IN | 49 | 12.3% | 20.0% |
| Huntington County, IN | 25 | 8.8% | 26.8% |
| Adams County, IN | 23 | 11.1% | 20.8% |
| Wells County, IN | 17 | 8.0% | 23.9% |
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 Wells County the poorest county in Indiana?
No, Wells County's poverty rate was 8.0% in 2024, 84th 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, Wells County ranks 82nd of 92 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wells 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 Wells County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.