Cedar County, Iowa

County Distress Index: Healthy · 28.0 | 18,302 people · 72nd most distressed in Iowa

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Cedar County, IA ranks among the least distressed counties in the country at 28.0 — 2953rd nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Housing Cost Burden, where housing costs consume a moderate share of household income. Within Iowa, it ranks 72nd of 99 counties. It scores lower than all 6 of its neighboring counties.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Cedar County's primary driver is Housing Cost Burden at 48.4 — above the national median.

Housing Cost Burden Primary driver 48.4
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 62
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 87
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 73
Homeownership Rate 16
Rent-to-Income Ratio 5
Employment & Wages 47.3
Unemployment Rate 34
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 36
Business Formation Rate 72
Debt & Delinquency 20.4
Debt in Collections 16
Medical Debt 21
Student Loan Delinquency 35
Auto Loan Delinquency 5
Credit Card Delinquency 10
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 35
Income & Poverty 13.0
Poverty Rate 7
Income vs. State Median 24
Child Poverty Rate 8
Community Vulnerability 11.0
Uninsured Rate 6
Disability Rate 16

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Cedar County compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Cedar County
Cedar County, IA 28.0 Healthy
Clinton County, IA 46.9 Normal +18.9
Muscatine County, IA 39.7 Normal +11.7
Scott County, IA 38.1 Normal +10.1
Johnson County, IA 34.0 Healthy +6.0
Linn County, IA 31.7 Healthy +3.7
Jones County, IA 28.9 Healthy +0.8

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Cedar County
Delaware County, IA 28.0 Healthy 0.0
Guthrie County, IA 28.0 Healthy -0.0
Wabasha County, MN 28.0 Healthy -0.0
Morton County, ND 28.2 Healthy +0.2
Kossuth County, IA 28.3 Healthy +0.3

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