In Boone County, Iowa, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in seven dollars of the typical household's income
In Boone County, 14.3% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 96% of U.S. counties.
What drives Boone County's score
In Boone County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 31.9. Jobs are the lowest part, at 8.3. Unemployment averaged 2.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, lower than in 92% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Boone 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.
Boone County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 31.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.4% · August 202512th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people127.9 · 202550th percentile
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- 19.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.7% · August 202521st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.3% · August 202519th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.5% · second quarter of 202618th percentile
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- 14.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.2% · 20249th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.6% · 202411th percentile
- People with a disability13.7% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
- People without health insurance3.3% · 2020 to 20243rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$80,986 · 202419th percentile
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- 14.0 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 rent13.9% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income14.3% · fiscal year 20271st percentile
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- 8.4 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 20267th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working13.0% · 2020 to 20248th 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 Boone 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 Boone County, 20.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Boone County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Boone County had its largest drop, from 22.4% in 1994 to 17.5% in 1999.
In Boone County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 23.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Boone County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Boone County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2023 low, from 6.3% in 2022 to 4.6% in 2023.
The share of households in Boone County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 4.8%
Low on the chart: 4.6% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Boone County, Iowa.
How Boone County has changed
Boone County's population rose 4% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1994 and 1999
High on the chart: 26,729 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Boone County, Iowa.
The number of jobs located in Boone County had its largest drop, from 9,624 in 2015 to 8,636 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Boone County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and is down 8% since
High on the chart: 9,624 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Boone County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.3% | 2025 3.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.6% | 2024 8.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,922 | 2024 $80,986 |
The table uses 3.1% 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 Boone County's history
1846
Land ceded by Sac and Fox nation in treaty signed October 11, 1842. County creation authorized January 13, 1846 by Indiana Territory legislative body. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 29,892. The 2020 Census counted 26,715, 89% of the peak. Census Bureau
1976
A tornado in June 1976 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1990
A tornado in March 1990 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Boone County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Boone County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Boone County, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Boone County ranks 3rd of the seven; Greene County is highest, at 27.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webster County, IA | 24 | 13.1% | 25.5% |
| Greene County, IA | 24 | 11.3% | 27.2% |
| Polk County, IA | 23 | 10.2% | 16.5% |
| Story County, IA | 9 | 15.9% | 16.1% |
| Hamilton County, IA | 7 | 8.3% | 20.8% |
| Boone County, IA | 3 | 8.2% | 23.0% |
| Dallas County, IA | 1 | 5.2% | 9.0% |
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 Boone County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Boone County's poverty rate was 8.2% in 2024, 84th 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, Boone County ranks 82nd of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Boone 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 Boone County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.