In Ida County, Iowa, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in seven dollars of the typical household's income
In Ida County, 15.4% 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 97% of U.S. counties.
What drives Ida County's score
In Ida County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 30.1. Jobs are the lowest part, at 6.5. Unemployment averaged 2.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Ida 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.
Ida 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.
- 30.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.6% · 202427th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.4% · 202429th percentile
- People with a disability13.7% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
- People without health insurance5.9% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,456 · 202434th percentile
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- 25.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.1% · August 20255th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people117.1 · 202545th percentile
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- 13.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.2% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.5% · August 20259th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score34.1% · second quarter of 202626th percentile
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- 7.4 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 rent8.7% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.4% · fiscal year 20275th or lower percentile
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- 6.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.4% · 2020 to 20247th 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 Ida 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 Ida County, 22.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Ida County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Ida County had its largest rise, from 14.8% in 2004 to 20.4% in 2009.
In Ida County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 21.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Ida County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Ida County getting SNAP food aid moved most in three steps: 9.1% in 2012 to 10.9% in 2013; 11.7% in 2014 to 9.9% in 2015; 11.4% in 2018 to 9.6% in 2019.
The share of households in Ida County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 6.0% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Ida County, Iowa.
How Ida County has changed
Ida County's population had its largest drop, from 7,914 in 1999 to 7,457 in 2004.
Ida County's population fell by about a quarter to 6,810, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 9,210 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Ida County, Iowa.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Ida County rose 18% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 3,403. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Ida County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.5% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.6% | 2024 10.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,871 | 2024 $72,456 |
The table uses 3.0% for 2025; the score uses 2.7% 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 Ida County's history
1851
Formation authorized January 15, 1851. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 12,327. The 2020 Census counted 7,005, 57% of the peak. Census Bureau
1984
A tornado in June 1984 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A tornado in June 1984 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Ida County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Ida County beside its neighbors
All four counties that border Ida County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Ida County ranks 4th of the five; Crawford County is highest, at 23.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodbury County, IA | 39 | 13.6% | 23.0% |
| Crawford County, IA | 22 | 11.7% | 23.4% |
| Cherokee County, IA | 11 | 10.4% | 17.0% |
| Sac County, IA | 3 | 11.5% | 21.5% |
| Ida County, IA | 2 | 10.6% | 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 Ida County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Ida County's poverty rate was 10.6% in 2024, 55th 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, Ida County ranks 87th of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Ida 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.
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 Ida County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.