In Howard County, Iowa, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Howard County, 15.6% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 98% of U.S. counties.
What drives Howard County's score
In Howard County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 31.6. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 5.3. Bankruptcy filings ran at 21.3 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Howard 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.
Howard 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.
- 31.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.7% · 202419th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.8% · 202426th percentile
- People with a disability10.5% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- People without health insurance10.2% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$71,163 · 202437th percentile
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- 11.7 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 202613th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working13.3% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
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- 10.2 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 rent11.0% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.6% · fiscal year 20275th percentile
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- 7.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.3% · August 20255th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.8% · second quarter of 202612th percentile
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- 5.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.0% · August 20255th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people21.3 · 20255th or lower 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 Howard 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 Howard County, 20.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Howard County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Howard County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 20.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Howard County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Howard County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 7.9% in 2018 to 6.4% in 2019.
The share of households in Howard County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 6.0% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Howard County, Iowa.
How Howard County has changed
Howard County's population fell by about a fifth to 9,360, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 9,913. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Howard County, Iowa.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Howard County rose by about half from 1990 to 2025, reaching 4,358, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 4,430 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Howard County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.0% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.9% | 2024 9.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,854 | 2024 $71,163 |
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 Howard County's history
1851
Founded 1851. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 14,512. The 2020 Census counted 9,469, 65% of the peak. Census Bureau
1971
A tornado in July 1971 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A tornado in May 2019 did $1.3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1968
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Howard County, 17 of them for flooding. FEMA
Howard County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Howard County, in Iowa and Minnesota, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Howard County ranks 3rd of the six; Mower County is highest, at 26.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mower County, MN | 37 | 9.2% | 26.1% |
| Fillmore County, MN | 6 | 8.1% | 25.6% |
| Chickasaw County, IA | 1 | 9.2% | 14.9% |
| Mitchell County, IA | 1 | 10.4% | 13.9% |
| Howard County, IA | 1 | 9.7% | 20.7% |
| Winneshiek County, IA | 0 | 8.9% | 20.7% |
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 Howard County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Howard County's poverty rate was 9.7% in 2024, 69th 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, Howard County ranks 92nd of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Howard 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 Howard 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 Howard County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.