About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Dickinson County, Iowa, have a job
In Dickinson County, 7.7% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 94% of U.S. counties.
What drives Dickinson County's score
In Dickinson County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 37.4. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 8.1. People with a credit card behind: 2.2%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Dickinson 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.
Dickinson 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.
- 37.4 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent21.5% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.2% · fiscal year 20275th or lower percentile
-
- 28.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.4% · August 20256th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people127.4 · 202550th percentile
-
- 14.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.1% · 20248th percentile
- Children below the poverty line8.9% · 20249th percentile
- People with a disability14.7% · 2020 to 202437th percentile
- People without health insurance2.6% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$86,022 · 202413th percentile
-
- 11.6 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 202618th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working7.7% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
-
- 8.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.2% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.5% · August 20259th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score28.7% · second quarter of 202610th percentile
-
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 Dickinson 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 Dickinson County, 28.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Dickinson County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Dickinson County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 14.4% in 2004 to 19.0% in 2009.
In Dickinson County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 18.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Dickinson County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 18.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Dickinson County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 7.6% in 2017 to 6.3% in 2018.
The share of households in Dickinson County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 4.5%
Low on the chart: 4.4% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Dickinson County, Iowa.
How Dickinson County has changed
Dickinson County's population rose 43% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 15,725. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Dickinson County, Iowa.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Dickinson County rose by about half to 9,794, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 8,079. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Dickinson County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.4% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.9% | 2024 8.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,190 | 2024 $86,022 |
The table uses 3.4% 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 Dickinson County's history
1857
Organized in 1857. Wikipedia
1968
A tornado in June 1968 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1981
A tornado in June 1981 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1990
A tornado in August 1990 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 17,703, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2024
A flood in June 2024 did $1.9 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1965
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Dickinson County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Dickinson County beside its neighbors
All four counties that border Dickinson County, in Iowa and Minnesota, score higher than it does. Of the group, Dickinson County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Emmet County gets the largest, at 26.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emmet County, IA | 21 | 11.9% | 26.8% |
| Clay County, IA | 13 | 11.3% | 20.5% |
| Osceola County, IA | 8 | 11.1% | 19.9% |
| Jackson County, MN | 7 | 9.4% | 23.6% |
| Dickinson County, IA | 5 | 8.1% | 18.7% |
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 Dickinson County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Dickinson County's poverty rate was 8.1% in 2024, 86th 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, Dickinson County ranks 72nd of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Dickinson 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.
-
Iowa Legal Aid
Legal aid
-
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 Dickinson 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 Dickinson County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.