In Floyd County, Iowa, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Floyd County, 15.5% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 86% of U.S. counties.
What drives Floyd County's score
In Floyd County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 34.6. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 14.8. People with a credit card behind: 2.4%, August 2025, lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Floyd 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.
Floyd 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.
- 34.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector18.8% · August 202534th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people97.9 · 202535th percentile
-
- 33.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.3% · 202433rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.4% · 202435th percentile
- People with a disability16.5% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- People without health insurance3.6% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$71,848 · 202436th percentile
-
- 30.5 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 rent19.1% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.5% · fiscal year 20275th or lower percentile
-
- 24.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202631st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.4% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
-
- 14.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.4% · August 20255th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.5% · August 20259th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score34.9% · second quarter of 202628th 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 Floyd 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 Floyd County, 23.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Floyd County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Floyd County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 25.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Floyd County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Floyd County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 12.2% in 2019 to 9.9% in 2020.
The share of households in Floyd County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 8.3%
Low on the chart: 7.4% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Floyd County, Iowa.
How Floyd County has changed
Floyd County's population had its largest drop, from 18,781 in 1984 to 17,312 in 1989.
Floyd County's population fell by about a quarter from 1969 to 2024, reaching 15,008, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 19,858. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Floyd County, Iowa.
The number of jobs located in Floyd County fell most sharply after its 2005 high, from 5,978 in 2005 to 5,422 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Floyd County fell 8% from 1990 to 2020, then turned up in 2025
High on the chart: 5,978 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Floyd County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.5% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.4% | 2024 11.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,780 | 2024 $71,848 |
The table uses 3.9% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Floyd County's history
1851
January 15, 1851 (created) 04 September 4, 1854 (organized). Wikipedia
1950
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 21,505. The 2020 Census counted 15,627, 73% of the peak. Census Bureau
1968
A tornado in May 1968 did $25 million in property damage and killed 13 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
A flash flood in July 1999 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flood in June 2008 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
A tornado in December 2021 did $1.15 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1965
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Floyd County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Floyd County beside its neighbors
Floyd County scores higher than all four counties that border it. Of the group, Floyd County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (25.7%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Floyd County, IA | 13 | 11.3% | 25.7% |
| Cerro Gordo County, IA | 8 | 10.4% | 20.1% |
| Butler County, IA | 3 | 8.8% | 24.6% |
| Chickasaw County, IA | 1 | 9.2% | 14.9% |
| Mitchell County, IA | 1 | 10.4% | 13.9% |
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 Floyd County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Floyd 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, Floyd County ranks 43rd of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Floyd 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.
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 Floyd County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.