About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Guthrie County, Iowa, have a job
In Guthrie County, 13.5% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 89% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 87% of U.S. counties.
What drives Guthrie County's score
In Guthrie County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 61.1. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 12.8. People with a credit card behind: 2.6%, August 2025, lower than in 92% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Guthrie 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.
Guthrie 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.
- 61.1 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 rent20.0% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.8% · fiscal year 202760th percentile
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- 28.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.6% · August 202510th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people121.2 · 202547th percentile
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- 17.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.8% · 202413th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.3% · 202419th percentile
- People with a disability12.4% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- People without health insurance3.1% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$75,047 · 202429th percentile
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- 13.4 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 working13.5% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
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- 12.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.6% · August 20257th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.7% · August 202511th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score32.1% · second quarter of 202619th 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 Guthrie 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 Guthrie 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
Guthrie County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Guthrie County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 23.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Guthrie County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Guthrie County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply after its 2010 low, from 5.8% in 2010 to 7.5% in 2011.
The share of households in Guthrie County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 5.8% 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, Guthrie County, Iowa.
How Guthrie County has changed
Guthrie County's population had its largest drop, from 11,595 in 1984 to 10,920 in 1989.
Guthrie County's population fell 12% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 12,316 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Guthrie County, Iowa.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Guthrie County rose 29% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 3,300 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Guthrie County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.9% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.3% | 2024 8.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,760 | 2024 $75,047 |
The table uses 3.5% 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 Guthrie County's history
1851
Formed January 15, 1851. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 18,729. The 2020 Census counted 10,623, 57% of the peak. Census Bureau
1986
A tornado in June 1986 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1995
A tornado in May 1995 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A tornado in May 2014 did $1.3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1974
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Guthrie County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Guthrie County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Guthrie County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Guthrie County ranks 4th of the six; Greene County is highest, at 27.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greene County, IA | 24 | 11.3% | 27.2% |
| Audubon County, IA | 18 | 11.0% | 23.6% |
| Guthrie County, IA | 12 | 8.8% | 23.1% |
| Adair County, IA | 11 | 10.2% | 24.0% |
| Dallas County, IA | 1 | 5.2% | 9.0% |
| Carroll County, IA | 0 | 8.0% | 21.1% |
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 Guthrie County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Guthrie County's poverty rate was 8.8% in 2024, 80th 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, Guthrie County ranks 50th of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Guthrie 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 Guthrie 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 Guthrie County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.