In Kossuth County, Iowa, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Kossuth County, 15.5% 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 96% of U.S. counties.
What drives Kossuth County's score
In Kossuth County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 27.4. Jobs are the lowest part, at 7.2. Unemployment averaged 2.8%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, lower than in 92% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Kossuth 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.
Kossuth 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.
- 27.4 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.4% · August 202516th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.5% · August 202540th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score33.9% · second quarter of 202625th percentile
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- 20.0 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 rent15.6% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.5% · fiscal year 20275th or lower percentile
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- 19.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.9% · 202414th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.6% · 202416th percentile
- People with a disability13.7% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
- People without health insurance3.8% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$73,860 · 202431st percentile
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- 13.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.1% · August 202515th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people55.6 · 202511th percentile
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- 7.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20267th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.5% · 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 Kossuth 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 Kossuth County, 25.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Kossuth County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Kossuth County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 23.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Kossuth County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.2%; 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 Kossuth County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2020 to 2021, reaching 6.6%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Kossuth County, Iowa.
How Kossuth County has changed
Kossuth County's population had its largest drop, from 20,827 in 1984 to 18,839 in 1989.
Kossuth County's population fell 38% from 1969 to 2024, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 1974 to 1979, reaching 21,947. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Kossuth County, Iowa.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Kossuth County rose 11% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 2010 and 2015
High on the chart: 6,933 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Kossuth County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.5% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.9% | 2024 8.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,578 | 2024 $73,860 |
The table uses 2.9% for 2025; the score uses 2.8% 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 Kossuth County's history
1851
Founded January 15, 1851. Wikipedia
1902
Algona Brownies African American baseball team 1902-1903. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 26,630. The 2020 Census counted 14,828, 56% of the peak. Census Bureau
1943
Camp Algona German prisoner of war camp 1943-1946. Wikipedia
1979
Destructive F3 tornado killed two people in Algona on June 28, 1979. Wikipedia
1979
A tornado in June 1979 did $25 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1980
A tornado in July 1980 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A tornado in June 1984 did $25 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 Kossuth County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Kossuth County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Kossuth County, in Iowa and Minnesota, six score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Kossuth County ranks 5th of the eight; Faribault County is highest, at 31.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faribault County, MN | 33 | 10.8% | 31.4% |
| Martin County, MN | 25 | 12.7% | 28.1% |
| Emmet County, IA | 21 | 11.9% | 26.8% |
| Humboldt County, IA | 11 | 11.2% | 23.0% |
| Winnebago County, IA | 8 | 10.4% | 26.3% |
| Hancock County, IA | 5 | 9.4% | 20.1% |
| Palo Alto County, IA | 3 | 11.8% | 22.7% |
| Kossuth County, IA | 3 | 8.9% | 23.2% |
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 Kossuth County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Kossuth County's poverty rate was 8.9% in 2024, 78th 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, Kossuth County ranks 84th of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Kossuth 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 Kossuth 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 Kossuth County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.