Iowa County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 99 counties in Iowa, scored 0–100 across five domains. A county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than; the average Iowa county scores 15.7.
Data: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Urban Institute, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts | Scores as of Aug 2026
Iowa Snapshot
99 Counties Scored
15.7 Mean Score
12.3 Median Score
63 Wapello County Most Distressed
0 Lyon County Least Distressed
1 moderate-high county distress2 moderate county distress5 moderate-low county distress7 low-moderate county distress12 low county distress34 very low county distress38 exceptionally low county distress
Score Label Distribution Iowa County Map
Wapello County is the most distressed of Iowa's 99 counties
County Distress Index score for Iowa's 99 counties, from green (least distressed, 0–29) to red (most distressed, 80–100). Data from 2024 to Aug 2026.
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The county map could not be loaded. Every county is in the lists on this page.
Least distressed 0–2930–4950–6970–7980–100 Most distressed
County Distress Index score · data from 2024 to Aug 2026
Point to or tap a county for its rank and score. Click it, or tap it twice, to open its page.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How Iowa's 99 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Iowa Counties
99 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Score Label | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | — | Wapello County | 63 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 2 | — | Des Moines County | 57 | moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 3 | — | Montgomery County | 50 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 4 | — | Appanoose County | 49 | moderate-low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 5 | — | Pottawattamie County | 46 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 6 | — | Jefferson County | 46 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 7 | — | Van Buren County | 40 | moderate-low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 8 | — | Clinton County | 40 | moderate-low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 9 | — | Black Hawk County | 39 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 10 | — | Woodbury County | 39 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 11 | — | Lee County | 38 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 12 | — | Union County | 34 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 13 | — | Lucas County | 32 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 14 | — | Muscatine County | 31 | low-moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 15 | — | Scott County | 30 | low-moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 16 | — | Decatur County | 26 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 17 | — | Keokuk County | 24 | low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 18 | — | Webster County | 24 | low county distress | Delinquency |
| 19 | — | Cass County | 24 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 20 | — | Greene County | 24 | low county distress | Delinquency |
| 21 | — | Polk County | 23 | low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 22 | — | Marshall County | 22 | low county distress | Labor |
| 23 | — | Page County | 22 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 24 | — | Crawford County | 22 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 25 | — | Emmet County | 21 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 26 | — | Pocahontas County | 21 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 27 | — | Monona County | 20 | low county distress | Delinquency |
| 28 | — | Fayette County | 19 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 29 | — | Wayne County | 19 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 30 | — | Tama County | 19 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 31 | — | Audubon County | 18 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 32 | — | Jasper County | 18 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 33 | — | Monroe County | 18 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 34 | — | Poweshiek County | 18 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 35 | — | Wright County | 17 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 36 | — | Henry County | 17 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 37 | — | Franklin County | 16 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 38 | — | Hardin County | 16 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 39 | — | Jackson County | 15 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 40 | — | Louisa County | 15 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 41 | — | Linn County | 15 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 42 | — | Mills County | 14 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 43 | — | Floyd County | 13 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 44 | — | Adams County | 13 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 45 | — | Clay County | 13 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 46 | — | Allamakee County | 13 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 47 | — | Buena Vista County | 13 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 48 | — | Dubuque County | 12 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 49 | — | Clarke County | 12 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 50 | — | Guthrie County | 12 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 51 | — | Humboldt County | 11 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 52 | — | Harrison County | 11 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 53 | — | Jones County | 11 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 54 | — | Adair County | 11 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 55 | — | Cherokee County | 11 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 56 | — | Johnson County | 10 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 57 | — | Taylor County | 10 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 58 | — | Fremont County | 10 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 59 | — | Ringgold County | 10 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 60 | — | Calhoun County | 10 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 61 | — | Davis County | 10 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 62 | — | Story County | 9 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 63 | — | Cerro Gordo County | 8 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 64 | — | Osceola County | 8 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 65 | — | Winnebago County | 8 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 66 | — | Clayton County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 67 | — | Hamilton County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 68 | — | Mahaska County | 6 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 69 | — | Shelby County | 6 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 70 | — | O'Brien County | 6 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 71 | — | Hancock County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 72 | — | Dickinson County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 73 | — | Cedar County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 74 | — | Buchanan County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 75 | — | Madison County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 76 | — | Washington County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 77 | — | Marion County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 78 | — | Iowa County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 79 | — | Worth County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 80 | — | Sac County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 81 | — | Palo Alto County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 82 | — | Boone County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 83 | — | Benton County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 84 | — | Kossuth County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 85 | — | Butler County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 86 | 3,046 | Warren County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 87 | 3,055 | Ida County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 88 | 3,057 | Delaware County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 89 | 3,083 | Chickasaw County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 90 | 3,084 | Dallas County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 91 | 3,085 | Mitchell County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 92 | 3,110 | Howard County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 93 | 3,111 | Plymouth County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 94 | 3,117 | Grundy County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 95 | 3,120 | Bremer County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 96 | 3,133 | Carroll County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 97 | 3,139 | Sioux County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 98 | 3,141 | Winneshiek County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 99 | 3,143 | Lyon County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using five equal-weighted domains. Each domain averages its member indicators' county ranks, the domains are averaged, and that average is ranked against every U.S. county. So a county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than. National ranks are shown only for the 100 most and 100 least distressed counties, because ranks in between move between updates. Counties with identical composite scores share a rank, marked T- for tied.
extreme county distress — 0 Iowa counties
very high county distress — 0 Iowa counties
high county distress — 0 Iowa counties
moderate-high county distress — 1 Iowa county
moderate county distress — 2 Iowa counties
moderate-low county distress — 5 Iowa counties
low-moderate county distress — 7 Iowa counties
low county distress — 12 Iowa counties
very low county distress — 34 Iowa counties
exceptionally low county distress — 38 Iowa counties
Urban Institute data: 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. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it.