In Jones County, Iowa, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in seven dollars of the typical household's income
In Jones County, 14.6% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 88% of U.S. counties.
What drives Jones County's score
In Jones County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 32.2. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 19.6. Bankruptcy filings ran at 67 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 81% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Jones 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.
Jones 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.
- 32.2 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.3% · August 202546th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.6% · August 202526th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score33.2% · second quarter of 202623rd percentile
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- 30.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202633rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.1% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
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- 24.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.0% · 202440th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.0% · 202422nd percentile
- People with a disability13.7% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
- People without health insurance3.5% · 2020 to 20244th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$76,093 · 202427th percentile
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- 21.4 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 rent16.6% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income14.6% · fiscal year 20271st percentile
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- 19.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector15.5% · August 202521st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people67 · 202518th 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 Jones 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 Jones County, 21.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Jones County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Jones County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 22.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Jones County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Jones County getting SNAP food aid doubled to 10.6%, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2012 and 2013
Biggest rise: 2012 to 2013, reaching 9.5%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Jones County, Iowa.
How Jones County has changed
Jones County's population rose 8% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979
High on the chart: 21,116 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Jones County, Iowa.
The number of jobs located in Jones County fell most sharply after its 2015 high, from 6,506 in 2015 to 5,735 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Jones County rose by about a fifth from 1990 to 2025, reaching 6,279
High on the chart: 6,506 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Jones County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.9% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.7% | 2024 12.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,229 | 2024 $76,093 |
The table uses 4.2% for 2025; the score uses 3.6% 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 Jones County's history
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 21,954. The 2020 Census counted 20,646, 94% of the peak. Census Bureau
1990
A tornado in March 1990 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flood in June 2008 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A flood in July 2010 did $15 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A flood in July 2010 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1968
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Jones County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Jones County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Jones County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Jones County ranks 3rd of the seven; Clinton County is highest, at 27.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinton County, IA | 40 | 13.0% | 27.5% |
| Jackson County, IA | 15 | 11.0% | 25.7% |
| Linn County, IA | 15 | 9.6% | 19.1% |
| Dubuque County, IA | 12 | 11.0% | 19.4% |
| Jones County, IA | 11 | 12.0% | 22.4% |
| Cedar County, IA | 5 | 7.9% | 18.1% |
| Delaware County, IA | 2 | 8.5% | 19.4% |
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 Jones County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Jones County's poverty rate was 12.0% in 2024, 29th 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, Jones County ranks 53rd of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Jones 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 Jones County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.