Mahaska County, Iowa

County Distress Index: Healthy · 29.4 | 21,874 people · 66th most distressed in Iowa

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Mahaska County, IA ranks among the least distressed counties in the country at 29.4 — 2904th 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 66th of 99 counties. Among its 6 neighboring counties, 5 show more distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Mahaska County's primary driver is Employment & Wages at 37.8 — above the national median.

Employment & Wages Primary driver 37.8
Unemployment Rate 10
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 11
Business Formation Rate 92
Income & Poverty 35.9
Poverty Rate 35
Income vs. State Median 41
Child Poverty Rate 32
Housing Cost Burden 28.8
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 17
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 15
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 29
Homeownership Rate 78
Rent-to-Income Ratio 6
Debt & Delinquency 23.2
Debt in Collections 27
Medical Debt 34
Student Loan Delinquency 9
Auto Loan Delinquency 16
Credit Card Delinquency 16
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 36
Community Vulnerability 21.3
Uninsured Rate 14
Disability Rate 28

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

Neighbors and Peers

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

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Mahaska County
Mahaska County, IA 29.4 Healthy
Wapello County, IA 58.9 Elevated +29.5
Jasper County, IA 39.1 Normal +9.8
Keokuk County, IA 36.3 Normal +7.0
Monroe County, IA 34.9 Healthy +5.5
Poweshiek County, IA 33.5 Healthy +4.1
Marion County, IA 23.9 Healthy -5.5

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Mahaska County
Williams County, ND 29.4 Healthy -0.0
York County, NE 29.4 Healthy +0.0
Platte County, NE 29.3 Healthy -0.1
Woodford County, KY 29.3 Healthy -0.1
Routt County, CO 29.5 Healthy +0.1

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