Unemployment in Adair County, Iowa, is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties
In Adair County, 2.2% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 88% of U.S. counties.
What drives Adair County's score
In Adair County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 47.8. Jobs are the lowest part, at 9.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Adair 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, Adair County is worse off than most counties on people with a car or retail loan behind (8.8%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 47.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.0% · August 202525th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.8% · August 202587th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.3% · second quarter of 202630th percentile
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- 27.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.2% · 202423rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.7% · 202431st percentile
- People with a disability13.6% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- People without health insurance5.3% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$73,642 · 202431st percentile
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- 22.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector18.6% · August 202533rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people54.1 · 202511th percentile
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- 20.6 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 rent15.8% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.6% · fiscal year 20275th or lower percentile
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- 9.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.6% · 2020 to 202414th 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 Adair 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 Adair County, 22.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Adair County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Adair County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 24.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Adair County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Adair County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply after its 2010 low, from 7.0% in 2010 to 8.8% in 2011.
The share of households in Adair County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 7.0% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Adair County, Iowa.
How Adair County has changed
Adair County's population had its largest drop, from 9,147 in 1984 to 8,431 in 1989.
Adair County's population fell by about a fifth to 7,431, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 9,545 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Adair County, Iowa.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Adair County rose by about half to 3,350, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 3,350. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Adair County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.5% | 2025 2.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.8% | 2024 10.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,910 | 2024 $73,642 |
The table uses 2.5% for 2025; the score uses 2.2% 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 Adair County's history
1851
Formed in 1851 from sections of Pottawattamie County. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 16,192. The 2020 Census counted 7,496, 46% of the peak. Census Bureau
1953
A tornado in June 1953 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
Hail in June 2014 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A tornado in May 2019 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A tornado in May 2024 did $30 million in property damage and killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Adair County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Adair County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Adair County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Adair County ranks 4th of the six; Union County is highest, at 32.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union County, IA | 34 | 13.4% | 32.4% |
| Cass County, IA | 24 | 11.6% | 26.2% |
| Adams County, IA | 13 | 12.1% | 27.8% |
| Guthrie County, IA | 12 | 8.8% | 23.1% |
| Adair County, IA | 11 | 10.2% | 24.0% |
| Madison County, IA | 4 | 6.4% | 18.7% |
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 Adair County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Adair County's poverty rate was 10.2% in 2024, 63rd highest of 99 in Iowa (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Decatur County, at 18.1%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Adair County ranks 54th of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Adair 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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Iowa Legal Aid
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 Adair County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.