In Butler County, Iowa, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in seven dollars of the typical household's income
In Butler County, 14.4% 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 Butler County's score
In Butler County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 24.2. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 6.5. People with a credit card behind: 0.7%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Butler 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.
Butler 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.
- 24.2 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent17.0% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income14.4% · fiscal year 20275th or lower percentile
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- 21.1 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 people84.7 · 202527th percentile
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- 20.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202634th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.3% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
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- 14.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.8% · 202413th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.8% · 202412th percentile
- People with a disability12.3% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- People without health insurance3.2% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$77,322 · 202424th percentile
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- 6.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind0.7% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind0.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score28.4% · second quarter of 20269th 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 Butler 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 Butler County, 23.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Butler County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Butler County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 24.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Butler County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Butler County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop in the last span, from 8.2% in 2023 to 7.0% in 2024.
The share of households in Butler County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 6.9% 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, Butler County, Iowa.
How Butler County has changed
Butler County's population fell 15% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 1984 and 1989
High on the chart: 17,827 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Butler County, Iowa.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Butler County rose by about a quarter to 3,676, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 3,386. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Butler County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.7% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.9% | 2024 8.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,522 | 2024 $77,322 |
The table uses 3.9% for 2025; the score uses 3.6% 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 Butler County's history
1851
Formed on January 15, 1851, from open land; organized in 1854 with enough inhabitants for local government. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 17,986. The 2020 Census counted 14,334, 80% of the peak. Census Bureau
1961
A tornado in September 1961 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A tornado in May 2008 did $75 million in property damage and killed nine people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A flood in May 2013 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A thunderstorm in May 2017 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Butler County, 21 of them for flooding. FEMA
Butler County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Butler County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Butler County ranks 2nd of the six; Floyd County is highest, at 25.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Hawk County, IA | 39 | 14.2% | 24.2% |
| Franklin County, IA | 16 | 11.2% | 22.3% |
| Floyd County, IA | 13 | 11.3% | 25.7% |
| Butler County, IA | 3 | 8.8% | 24.6% |
| Grundy County, IA | 0 | 6.2% | 20.1% |
| Bremer County, IA | 0 | 7.2% | 19.8% |
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 Butler County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Butler County's poverty rate was 8.8% in 2024, 80th 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, Butler County ranks 85th of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Butler 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 Butler 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 Butler County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.