In Carroll County, Iowa, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in seven dollars of the typical household's income
In Carroll County, 13.7% 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 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Carroll County's score
In Carroll County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 14.8. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 5.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Carroll 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.
Carroll 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.
- 14.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.2% · August 202513th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.2% · August 202518th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.9% · second quarter of 202612th percentile
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- 13.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector10.9% · August 20255th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people73.1 · 202521st percentile
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- 11.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.0% · 20248th percentile
- Children below the poverty line8.2% · 20246th percentile
- People with a disability12.9% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- People without health insurance2.8% · 2020 to 20241st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$81,338 · 202418th percentile
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- 7.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20263rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working13.8% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
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- 5.9 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 rent9.6% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income13.7% · 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 Carroll 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 Carroll County, 21.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Carroll County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Carroll County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 21.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Carroll County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Carroll County getting SNAP food aid fell most in two steps: 9.6% in 2017 to 8.0% in 2018; 7.8% in 2021 to 6.2% in 2022.
The share of households in Carroll County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 5.9%
Biggest drop: 2017 to 2018, reaching 8.0%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Carroll County, Iowa.
How Carroll County has changed
Carroll County's population had its largest drop, from 22,642 in 1984 to 21,501 in 1989.
Carroll County's population fell 11% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 23,125 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Carroll County, Iowa.
The number of jobs located in Carroll County had its largest rise, from 10,232 in 1995 to 11,778 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Carroll County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 12,063 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Carroll County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.2% | 2025 2.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.6% | 2024 8.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,995 | 2024 $81,338 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Carroll County's history
1851
Formed on January 15, 1851, from sections of Pottawattamie County. Wikipedia
1960
The county's largest recorded population was the 1960 Census count of 23,431. The 2020 Census counted 20,760, 89% of the peak. Census Bureau
1995
A tornado in May 1995 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
A thunderstorm in July 2002 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Carroll County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Carroll County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Carroll County score higher than it does. Of the group, Carroll County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Greene County gets the largest, at 27.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greene County, IA | 24 | 11.3% | 27.2% |
| Crawford County, IA | 22 | 11.7% | 23.4% |
| Audubon County, IA | 18 | 11.0% | 23.6% |
| Guthrie County, IA | 12 | 8.8% | 23.1% |
| Calhoun County, IA | 10 | 13.3% | 25.8% |
| Sac County, IA | 3 | 11.5% | 21.5% |
| Carroll County, IA | 0 | 8.0% | 21.1% |
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 Carroll County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Carroll County's poverty rate was 8.0% in 2024, 87th 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, Carroll County ranks 96th of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Carroll 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 Carroll 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 Carroll County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.