About one in 13 people in Dallas County, Iowa, has a disability
In Dallas County, 7.7% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 98% of U.S. counties.
What drives Dallas County's score
In Dallas County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 30.5. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 3.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Dallas 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.
Dallas 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.
- 30.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.5% · August 20259th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people128.7 · 202551st percentile
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- 19.7 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 rent14.8% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.4% · fiscal year 20279th percentile
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- 13.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.4% · August 202516th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.3% · August 202519th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score24.6% · second quarter of 20263rd percentile
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- 7.9 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 202611th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working11.3% · 2020 to 20244th percentile
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- 3.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line5.2% · 20240th percentile
- Children below the poverty line5.5% · 20241st percentile
- People with a disability7.7% · 2020 to 20240th percentile
- People without health insurance3.9% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$99,683 · 20245th 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 Dallas 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 Dallas County, 12.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Dallas County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Dallas County had its largest rise, from 10.5% in 1979 to 12.9% in 1984.
In Dallas County, pay from work still brings in about eight times as much as benefit checks, with little change in benefit checks' share since 1969
In Dallas County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income rose from 1969 to 2024, reaching 9.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Dallas County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 6.2% in 2018 to 5.3% in 2019.
The share of households in Dallas County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 5.5%
Low on the chart: 4.7% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Dallas County, Iowa.
How Dallas County has changed
Dallas County's population had its largest rise in the last span, from 96,866 in 2019 to 115,343 in 2024.
Dallas County's population rose 350% from 1969 to 2024, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 29,314. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Dallas County, Iowa.
The number of jobs located in Dallas County had its largest rise in the last span, from 44,844 in 2020 to 56,432 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Dallas County grew to about seven times its 1990 size in 2025, reaching 56,432, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 12,992. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Dallas County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.6% | 2025 3.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 7.1% | 2024 5.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $30,177 | 2024 $99,683 |
The table uses 3.1% 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 Dallas County's history
1846
Created January 13, 1846 by the Iowa Territory legislative body. Wikipedia
1913
Flour mill destroyed in 1913. Wikipedia
1998
A thunderstorm in June 1998 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
A tornado in November 2005 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
Lightning in August 2010 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 99,678, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Dallas County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Dallas County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Dallas County score higher than it does. Of the group, Dallas 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% |
| Polk County, IA | 23 | 10.2% | 16.5% |
| Guthrie County, IA | 12 | 8.8% | 23.1% |
| Madison County, IA | 4 | 6.4% | 18.7% |
| Boone County, IA | 3 | 8.2% | 23.0% |
| Dallas County, IA | 1 | 5.2% | 9.0% |
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 Dallas County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Dallas County's poverty rate was 5.2% in 2024, the lowest 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, Dallas County ranks 90th of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Dallas 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 Dallas 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 Dallas County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.