Unemployment in Keokuk County, Iowa, is lower than in 84% of U.S. counties
In Keokuk County, 3.1% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 84% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 75% of U.S. counties.
What drives Keokuk County's score
In Keokuk County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 50.1. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 14.1. People with a car or retail loan behind: 0.9%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Keokuk 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.
Even so, Keokuk County is worse off than most counties on median household income ($56,316, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 50.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector18.6% · August 202532nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people171.5 · 202567th percentile
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- 45.5 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 rent18.4% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.8% · fiscal year 202739th percentile
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- 41.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.5% · 202435th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.6% · 202431st percentile
- People with a disability16.0% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
- People without health insurance4.0% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,316 · 202479th percentile
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- 25.6 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 202615th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.4% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
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- 14.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.9% · August 20259th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind0.9% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score34.4% · second quarter of 202627th 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 Keokuk 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 Keokuk County, 22.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Keokuk County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Keokuk County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 25.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Keokuk County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Keokuk County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 10.0% in 2012 to 11.7% in 2013.
The share of households in Keokuk County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 9.4%
Low on the chart: 8.3% 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, Keokuk County, Iowa.
How Keokuk County has changed
Keokuk County's population had its largest drop, from 12,504 in 1984 to 11,658 in 1989.
Keokuk County's population fell by about a third from 1969 to 2024, reaching 9,855, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 2014 to 2019, reaching 10,115. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Keokuk County, Iowa.
The number of jobs located in Keokuk County had its largest drop, from 2,528 in 2005 to 2,312 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Keokuk County fell 15% from 1990 to 2020, then turned up in 2025
High on the chart: 2,558 in 1990. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Keokuk County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.6% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.8% | 2024 11.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,585 | 2024 $56,316 |
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 Keokuk County's history
1837
Formed 1837. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 24,979. The 2020 Census counted 10,033, 40% of the peak. Census Bureau
1984
A tornado in June 1984 did $25 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A tornado in June 1984 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A tornado in April 2014 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Keokuk County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Keokuk County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Keokuk County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Keokuk County ranks 3rd of the seven; Wapello County is highest, at 30.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wapello County, IA | 63 | 15.6% | 30.3% |
| Jefferson County, IA | 46 | 14.0% | 27.1% |
| Keokuk County, IA | 24 | 11.5% | 25.7% |
| Poweshiek County, IA | 18 | 11.8% | 21.7% |
| Mahaska County, IA | 6 | 11.6% | 22.9% |
| Washington County, IA | 4 | 9.0% | 16.2% |
| Iowa County, IA | 4 | 7.1% | 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 Keokuk County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Keokuk County's poverty rate was 11.5% in 2024, 38th 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, Keokuk County ranks 17th of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Keokuk 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 Keokuk 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 Keokuk County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.