About one in 10 people in Buena Vista County, Iowa, has a disability
In Buena Vista County, 10.3% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 86% of U.S. counties.
What drives Buena Vista County's score
In Buena Vista County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 39.9. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 18.6. Rent on a two-bedroom takes 16.1% of the typical household's income (fiscal year 2027), lower than in 92% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Buena Vista 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.
Buena Vista 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.
- 39.9 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.9% · August 202523rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.8% · August 202544th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score40.5% · second quarter of 202651st percentile
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- 28.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.3% · August 202527th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people87.5 · 202529th percentile
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- 24.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.7% · 202428th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.3% · 202429th percentile
- People with a disability10.3% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- People without health insurance6.2% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$77,083 · 202425th percentile
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- 23.6 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 working19.2% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
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- 18.6 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 rent14.7% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.1% · fiscal year 20277th 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 Buena Vista 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 Buena Vista County, 16.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Buena Vista County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Buena Vista County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 21.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Buena Vista County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Buena Vista County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (7.2% in 2009) to 9.7% in 2010.
The share of households in Buena Vista County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 7.2% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Buena Vista County, Iowa.
How Buena Vista County has changed
Buena Vista County's population made its largest gain on the way to its 2014 high, from 20,004 in 2009 to 21,044 in 2014.
Buena Vista County's population was about the same in 2024 as in 1969
High on the chart: 21,044 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Buena Vista County, Iowa.
The number of jobs located in Buena Vista County had its largest rise, from 8,158 in 1990 to 9,229 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Buena Vista County rose by about a third from 1990 to 2020, reaching 10,857, then turned down in 2025
High on the chart: 10,930 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Buena Vista County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.7% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.5% | 2024 10.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,791 | 2024 $77,083 |
The table uses 3.0% 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 Buena Vista County's history
1851
Formed on January 15, 1851, from open land. Wikipedia
1956
Buena Vista University main building burned down. Wikipedia
1960
The county's largest recorded population was the 1960 Census count of 21,189. The 2020 Census counted 20,823, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau
1984
A tornado in June 1984 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A tornado in October 2013 did $1.2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flood in March 2019 did $1.64 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A flood in June 2024 did $2.44 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Buena Vista County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Buena Vista County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Buena Vista County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Buena Vista County ranks 2nd of the five; Pocahontas County is highest, at 25.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pocahontas County, IA | 21 | 11.0% | 25.5% |
| Clay County, IA | 13 | 11.3% | 20.5% |
| Buena Vista County, IA | 13 | 10.7% | 21.5% |
| Cherokee County, IA | 11 | 10.4% | 17.0% |
| Sac County, IA | 3 | 11.5% | 21.5% |
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 Buena Vista County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Buena Vista County's poverty rate was 10.7% in 2024, 54th 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, Buena Vista County ranks 47th of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Buena Vista 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 Buena Vista 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 Buena Vista County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.