About one in 16 people in Madison County, Iowa, lives below the poverty line
In Madison County, 6.4% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 95% of U.S. counties.
What drives Madison County's score
In Madison County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 28.7. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 8.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Madison 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.
Madison 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.
- 28.7 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.4% · August 202531st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.8% · August 202544th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score28.7% · second quarter of 20269th percentile
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- 26.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector16.2% · August 202523rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people88.4 · 202530th percentile
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- 22.6 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 rent13.2% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.0% · fiscal year 202722nd percentile
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- 10.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202613th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.5% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
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- 8.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line6.4% · 20245th or lower percentile
- Children below the poverty line6.4% · 20245th or lower percentile
- People with a disability9.5% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- People without health insurance4.9% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$90,539 · 202410th 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 Madison 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 Madison County, 17.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Madison County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Madison County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 18.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than three times as much as benefit checks
In Madison County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 18.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Madison County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.3% in 2011 to 9.3% in 2012.
The share of households in Madison County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 6.1%
Low on the chart: 5.2% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Madison County, Iowa.
How Madison County has changed
Madison County's population rose by about half to 17,161, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 13,898. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Madison County, Iowa.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Madison County rose by about half to 4,194, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 3,399. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Madison County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.4% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.7% | 2024 6.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,222 | 2024 $90,539 |
The table uses 3.3% for 2025; the score uses 3.0% 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 Madison County's history
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 17,710. The 2020 Census counted 16,548, 93% of the peak. Census Bureau
1994
A thunderstorm in April 1994 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in March 2011 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2022
EF4 tornado struck outside Winterset March 5, 2022, killing six people. Wikipedia
2022
A tornado in March 2022 did $75 million in property damage and killed six people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Madison County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Madison County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Madison County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Madison County ranks 4th of the six; Union County is highest, at 32.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union County, IA | 34 | 13.4% | 32.4% |
| Clarke County, IA | 12 | 10.9% | 26.0% |
| Adair County, IA | 11 | 10.2% | 24.0% |
| Madison County, IA | 4 | 6.4% | 18.7% |
| Warren County, IA | 3 | 6.6% | 16.9% |
| Dallas County, IA | 1 | 5.2% | 9.0% |
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 Madison County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Madison County's poverty rate was 6.4% in 2024, 97th 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, Madison County ranks 75th of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Madison 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 Madison 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 Madison County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.