In Fremont County, Iowa, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Fremont County, 15.8% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 89% of U.S. counties.
What drives Fremont County's score
In Fremont County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 46.5. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 6.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Fremont 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.
Fremont 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.
- 46.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector19.6% · August 202537th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people139.4 · 202555th percentile
-
- 28.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.5% · August 202550th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.1% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.3% · second quarter of 202630th percentile
-
- 27.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.2% · 202423rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.8% · 202426th percentile
- People with a disability15.1% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- People without health insurance3.5% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,478 · 202440th percentile
-
- 17.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202614th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.7% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
-
- 6.2 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 rent6.9% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.8% · fiscal year 20276th 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 Fremont 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 Fremont County, 24.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Fremont County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Fremont County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 29.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Fremont County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Fremont County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 9.0% in 2011 to 10.9% in 2012.
The share of households in Fremont County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2010, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 8.0% 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, Fremont County, Iowa.
How Fremont County has changed
Fremont County's population had its largest drop, from 9,028 in 1984 to 8,252 in 1989.
Fremont County's population fell by about a third to 6,494, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 9,687 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Fremont County, Iowa.
The number of jobs located in Fremont County had its largest drop, from 2,714 in 2015 to 2,311 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Fremont County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 2,978 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Fremont County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.5% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.6% | 2024 10.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,021 | 2024 $70,478 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.0% 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 Fremont County's history
1847
Formed in 1847. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 18,546. The 2020 Census counted 6,605, 36% of the peak. Census Bureau
1979
A tornado in August 1979 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flood in August 2011 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
2019 Midwestern U.S. floods impacted Fremont County, buyouts discussed for Hamburg and McPaul residents. Wikipedia
2019
A flood in March 2019 did $22 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flash flood in March 2019 did $14 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1965
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Fremont County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Fremont County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Fremont County, in Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Fremont County ranks 2nd of the six; Page County is highest, at 30.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Page County, IA | 22 | 14.5% | 30.5% |
| Atchison County, MO | 20 | 12.1% | 28.0% |
| Mills County, IA | 14 | 9.8% | 21.6% |
| Fremont County, IA | 10 | 10.2% | 29.7% |
| Otoe County, NE | 4 | 8.0% | 22.4% |
| Cass County, NE | 4 | 6.2% | 18.8% |
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 Fremont County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Fremont County's poverty rate was 10.2% in 2024, 63rd 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, Fremont County ranks 58th of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Fremont 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 Fremont 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 Fremont County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.