About one in 16 people in Grundy County, Iowa, lives below the poverty line
In Grundy County, 6.2% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Grundy County's score
In Grundy County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 18.4. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 9.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Grundy 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.
Grundy 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.
- 18.4 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 rent15.0% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.6% · fiscal year 20275th percentile
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- 13.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector10.9% · August 20255th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people72.7 · 202520th percentile
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- 12.3 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 202612th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.0% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
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- 10.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.6% · August 20256th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.6% · August 20259th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score30.0% · second quarter of 202613th percentile
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- 9.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line6.2% · 20245th or lower percentile
- Children below the poverty line6.4% · 20245th or lower percentile
- People with a disability12.0% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- People without health insurance3.8% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$84,203 · 202415th 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 Grundy 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 Grundy County, 21.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Grundy County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Grundy County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 20.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Grundy County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Grundy County getting SNAP food aid fell most in two steps: 6.2% in 2015 to 5.6% in 2016; 5.0% in 2023 to 4.4% in 2024.
The share of households in Grundy County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 4.4%
Biggest drop: 2015 to 2016, reaching 5.6%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Grundy County, Iowa.
How Grundy County has changed
Grundy County's population fell 11% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1984 and 1989
High on the chart: 14,417 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Grundy County, Iowa.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Grundy County rose by about a quarter to 4,081, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 3,713. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Grundy County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.6% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 7.2% | 2024 6.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,057 | 2024 $84,203 |
The table uses 3.2% 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 Grundy County's history
1851
January 15, 1851 (created) December 25, 1856 (organized). Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 14,420. The 2020 Census counted 12,329, 85% of the peak. Census Bureau
1952
A tornado in June 1952 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1989
A tornado in May 1989 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1990
A tornado in June 1990 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
Iowa State Patrol officer Jim Smith killed by gunfire April 9, 2021 during standoff with Michael Lang. Wikipedia
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Since 1969
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Grundy County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Grundy County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Grundy County score higher than it does. Of the group, Grundy County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Marshall County gets the largest, at 27.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Hawk County, IA | 39 | 14.2% | 24.2% |
| Marshall County, IA | 22 | 12.4% | 27.8% |
| Tama County, IA | 19 | 11.6% | 24.6% |
| Hardin County, IA | 16 | 12.5% | 23.1% |
| Butler County, IA | 3 | 8.8% | 24.6% |
| Grundy County, IA | 0 | 6.2% | 20.1% |
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 Grundy County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Grundy County's poverty rate was 6.2% in 2024, 98th 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, Grundy County ranks 94th of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Grundy 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 Grundy 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 Grundy County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.