About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Clay County, Iowa, have a job
In Clay County, 11.4% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 86% of U.S. counties.
What drives Clay County's score
In Clay County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 39.6. Jobs are the lowest part, at 7.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Clay 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.
Clay 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.
- 39.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.3% · 202433rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.2% · 202434th percentile
- People with a disability14.8% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
- People without health insurance5.5% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,530 · 202465th percentile
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- 32.3 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 rent16.8% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.1% · fiscal year 202722nd percentile
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- 29.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector16.3% · August 202523rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people96.9 · 202534th percentile
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- 27.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.6% · August 202534th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.0% · August 202513th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score36.5% · second quarter of 202635th percentile
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- 7.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20269th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working11.4% · 2020 to 20245th or lower 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 Clay 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 Clay County, 22.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Clay County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Clay County had its largest rise, from 15.4% in 2004 to 19.7% in 2009.
In Clay County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 20.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Clay County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Clay County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (6.5% in 2009) to 8.1% in 2010.
The share of households in Clay 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: 6.5% 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, Clay County, Iowa.
How Clay County has changed
Clay County's population fell 10% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1984 and 1989
High on the chart: 19,621 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Clay County, Iowa.
The number of jobs located in Clay County had its largest rise, from 8,448 in 1995 to 9,717 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Clay County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 12% since
High on the chart: 9,717 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Clay County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.4% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.5% | 2024 11.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,109 | 2024 $61,530 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 2.9% 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 Clay County's history
1931
Spencer Fire destroyed over 100 buildings, fireworks banned. Wikipedia
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 19,576. The 2020 Census counted 16,384, 84% of the peak. Census Bureau
1995
A thunderstorm in July 1995 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A flood in June 2024 did $25.59 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Clay County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Clay County beside its neighbors
Clay County scores higher than all four counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Clay County ranks 4th of the five; Palo Alto County is highest, at 22.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clay County, IA | 13 | 11.3% | 20.5% |
| Buena Vista County, IA | 13 | 10.7% | 21.5% |
| O'Brien County, IA | 6 | 9.3% | 21.0% |
| Dickinson County, IA | 5 | 8.1% | 18.7% |
| Palo Alto County, IA | 3 | 11.8% | 22.7% |
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 Clay County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Clay County's poverty rate was 11.3% in 2024, 40th 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, Clay County ranks 45th of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Clay 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.
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 Clay County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.