About one in nine people with a credit file in Davis County, Iowa, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Davis County, 11.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 89% of U.S. counties.
What drives Davis County's score
In Davis County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 43.4. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 9.5. People with a credit card behind: 1.9%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Davis 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.
Even so, Davis County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (25.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 43.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.4% · 202425th percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.8% · 202443rd percentile
- People with a disability11.9% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- People without health insurance25.1% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,676 · 202439th percentile
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- 41.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202616th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.5% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
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- 15.0 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 rent7.6% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.1% · fiscal year 202722nd percentile
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- 14.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.1% · August 20255th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people76.3 · 202522nd percentile
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- 9.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind1.9% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind0.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.6% · second quarter of 202618th 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 Davis 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 Davis County, 18.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Davis County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Davis County had its largest rise, from 19.8% in 2004 to 24.1% in 2009.
In Davis County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 21.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Davis County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Davis County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 10.2% in 2018 to 7.5% in 2019.
The share of households in Davis County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 5.1% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Davis County, Iowa.
How Davis County has changed
Davis County's population rose 10% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979
High on the chart: 9,194 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Davis County, Iowa.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Davis County rose 7% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 2,108 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Davis County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.7% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.5% | 2024 10.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,601 | 2024 $70,676 |
The table uses 3.3% for 2025; the score uses 3.1% 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 Davis County's history
1843
Founded in 1843. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 15,620. The 2020 Census counted 9,110, 58% of the peak. Census Bureau
1980
A tornado in June 1980 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1988
A tornado in May 1988 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A thunderstorm in June 2009 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Davis County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Davis County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Davis County, in Iowa and Missouri, score higher than it does. Of the group, Davis County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Appanoose County gets the largest, at 33.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wapello County, IA | 63 | 15.6% | 30.3% |
| Appanoose County, IA | 49 | 15.8% | 33.8% |
| Van Buren County, IA | 40 | 16.8% | 30.5% |
| Schuyler County, MO | 37 | 14.7% | 29.2% |
| Scotland County, MO | 21 | 13.6% | 23.4% |
| Davis County, IA | 10 | 10.4% | 21.3% |
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 Davis County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Davis County's poverty rate was 10.4% in 2024, 58th 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, Davis County ranks 61st of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Davis 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 Davis County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.