Louisa County, Iowa

County Distress Index: Healthy · 31.0 | 10,513 people · 61st most distressed in Iowa
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Louisa County, IA ranks among the least distressed counties in the country at 31.0 — 2853rd nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Employment & Wages, where the job market is relatively stable with wages that keep pace with costs. Within Iowa, it ranks 61st of 99 counties. It scores lower than all 7 of its neighboring counties.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Louisa County's primary driver is Employment & Wages at 43.5 — above the national median.

Employment & Wages Primary driver 43.5
Unemployment Rate 55
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 14
Business Formation Rate 61
Debt & Delinquency 36.9
Debt in Collections 30
Medical Debt 36
Student Loan Delinquency 32
Auto Loan Delinquency 30
Credit Card Delinquency 49
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 43
Community Vulnerability 33.4
Uninsured Rate 19
Disability Rate 48
Income & Poverty 23.6
Poverty Rate 19
Income vs. State Median 27
Child Poverty Rate 25
Housing Cost Burden 17.7
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 9
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 16
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 41
Homeownership Rate 18
Rent-to-Income Ratio 5

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

Neighbors and Peers

How Louisa County compares to its 7 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Louisa County
Louisa County, IA 31.0 Healthy —
Des Moines County, IA 58.5 Elevated +27.5
Rock Island County, IL 54.2 Elevated +23.2
Henry County, IA 40.9 Normal +9.9
Muscatine County, IA 39.7 Normal +8.7
Mercer County, IL 35.3 Normal +4.3
Johnson County, IA 34.0 Healthy +3.0
Washington County, IA 31.5 Healthy +0.5

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Louisa County
Summit County, CO 31.0 Healthy +0.0
Brown County, MN 30.9 Healthy -0.1
Oconto County, WI 30.9 Healthy -0.1
Clinton County, IL 30.9 Healthy -0.1
Cass County, NE 30.8 Healthy -0.2

Download Data

Export all distress indicators for Louisa County as a CSV file.

Find Help in Louisa County

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Iowa State Bar Association Lawyer Referral 515-243-3179

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the distress score for Louisa County, Iowa?

    Louisa County has a County Distress Index score of 31.0 out of 100, placing it in the Healthy zone. It ranks 2,853rd nationally out of 3,144 counties and 61st in Iowa out of 99 counties.

  • What drives financial distress in Louisa County?

    The primary driver of distress in Louisa County is Employment & Wages, where the county scores 43.5 out of 100. This domain is measured by indicators including Unemployment Rate, Wage-to-Rent Ratio, Business Formation Rate.

  • How does Louisa County compare to neighboring counties?

    Louisa County (31.0) can be compared to its 7 neighboring counties: Des Moines County, IA (58.5); Rock Island County, IL (54.2); Henry County, IA (40.9).

  • How is the County Distress Index calculated?

    The County Distress Index uses percentile-rank averaging across five domains: Debt & Delinquency, Income & Poverty, Housing Cost Burden, Employment & Wages, and Community Vulnerability. Each county's indicators are ranked against all 3,144 U.S. counties. A score of 50 means the county is at the national median; higher scores indicate greater distress.

  • What is the population of Louisa County?

    Louisa County, Iowa has a population of approximately 10,513 (2023 Census estimate), classified as a small county.