In Buchanan County, Iowa, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in seven dollars of the typical household's income
In Buchanan County, 13.9% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 95% of U.S. counties.
What drives Buchanan County's score
In Buchanan County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 29.1. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 10.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Buchanan 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.
Buchanan 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.
- 29.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.5% · 202426th percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.6% · 202442nd percentile
- People with a disability12.6% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- People without health insurance6.7% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$81,191 · 202418th percentile
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- 25.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.8% · August 202514th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people101.5 · 202536th percentile
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- 16.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.8% · August 202522nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.8% · August 20254th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score32.8% · second quarter of 202621st percentile
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- 16.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202620th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working13.9% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
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- 10.2 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 rent12.1% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income13.9% · fiscal year 20270th 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 Buchanan 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 Buchanan 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
Buchanan County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Buchanan County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 21.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Buchanan County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Buchanan County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 7.8% in 2015 to 9.1% in 2016; 9.1% in 2019 to 7.8% in 2020.
The share of households in Buchanan County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 6.5% 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, Buchanan County, Iowa.
How Buchanan County has changed
Buchanan County's population had its largest drop, from 22,253 in 1984 to 20,890 in 1989.
Buchanan County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1979 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 23,220 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Buchanan County, Iowa.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Buchanan County rose 39% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 5,661. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Buchanan County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.6% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.0% | 2024 10.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,349 | 2024 $81,191 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.2% 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 Buchanan County's history
1837
Formed on December 21, 1837, from parts of Dubuque County. Wikipedia
1893
Williams lost fortune in Panic of 1893. Wikipedia
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 22,900. The 2020 Census counted 20,565, 90% of the peak. Census Bureau
1998
A thunderstorm in June 1998 did $1.8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2004
A flash flood in May 2004 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flood in June 2008 did $3.1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in July 2016 did $2,000,000 in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Buchanan County, 21 of them for flooding. FEMA
Buchanan County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Buchanan County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Buchanan County ranks 3rd of the six; Fayette County is highest, at 28.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Hawk County, IA | 39 | 14.2% | 24.2% |
| Fayette County, IA | 19 | 12.9% | 28.7% |
| Linn County, IA | 15 | 9.6% | 19.1% |
| Buchanan County, IA | 4 | 10.5% | 21.3% |
| Benton County, IA | 3 | 7.2% | 19.4% |
| Delaware County, IA | 2 | 8.5% | 19.4% |
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 Buchanan County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Buchanan County's poverty rate was 10.5% in 2024, 56th 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, Buchanan County ranks 74th of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Buchanan 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.
Download the CSV for Buchanan County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
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 Buchanan County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.