Lee County, Iowa

County Distress Index: Normal · 49.4 | 32,565 people · 9th most distressed in Iowa

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Lee County, IA falls within the normal range for household financial distress at 49.4 — 1637th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Income & Poverty, where income and poverty levels indicate moderate economic strain. Within Iowa, it ranks 9th of 99 counties. Its score is in the middle of its 6 neighboring counties.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Lee County's primary driver is Income & Poverty at 63.4 — above the national median.

Income & Poverty Primary driver 63.4
Poverty Rate 57
Income vs. State Median 80
Child Poverty Rate 53
Housing Cost Burden 51.5
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 69
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 52
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 62
Homeownership Rate 44
Rent-to-Income Ratio 30
Employment & Wages 51.2
Unemployment Rate 52
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 9
Business Formation Rate 93
Debt & Delinquency 45.0
Debt in Collections 55
Medical Debt 52
Student Loan Delinquency 42
Auto Loan Delinquency 46
Credit Card Delinquency 31
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 43
Community Vulnerability 36.0
Uninsured Rate 14
Disability Rate 58

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Lee County compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Lee County
Lee County, IA 49.4 Normal
Des Moines County, IA 58.5 Elevated +9.1
Clark County, MO 54.1 Elevated +4.7
Van Buren County, IA 49.7 Normal +0.3
Henderson County, IL 48.0 Normal -1.4
Hancock County, IL 43.8 Normal -5.6
Henry County, IA 40.9 Normal -8.5

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Lee County
Pike County, MO 49.4 Normal +0.0
Habersham County, GA 49.4 Normal -0.0
Henry County, IN 49.5 Normal +0.1
Pendleton County, KY 49.3 Normal -0.1
Venango County, PA 49.3 Normal -0.1

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