Monroe County, Iowa

County Distress Index: Healthy · 34.9 | 7,504 people · 38th most distressed in Iowa

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Monroe County, IA ranks among the least distressed counties in the country at 34.9 — 2653rd nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Debt & Delinquency, where debt and delinquency rates remain below the national norm. Within Iowa, it ranks 38th of 99 counties. Among its 7 neighboring counties, 4 show more distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Monroe County's primary driver is Debt & Delinquency at 39.8 — above the national median.

Debt & Delinquency Primary driver 39.8
Debt in Collections 30
Medical Debt 40
Student Loan Delinquency 32
Auto Loan Delinquency 46
Credit Card Delinquency 32
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 59
Housing Cost Burden 38.5
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 95
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 68
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 14
Homeownership Rate 5
Rent-to-Income Ratio 10
Income & Poverty 37.9
Poverty Rate 22
Income vs. State Median 60
Child Poverty Rate 31
Employment & Wages 32.1
Unemployment Rate 52
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 5
Business Formation Rate 39
Community Vulnerability 26.1
Uninsured Rate 5
Disability Rate 47

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

Neighbors and Peers

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

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Monroe County
Monroe County, IA 34.9 Healthy
Wapello County, IA 58.9 Elevated +24.0
Appanoose County, IA 58.0 Elevated +23.1
Lucas County, IA 49.3 Normal +14.4
Wayne County, IA 43.7 Normal +8.8
Davis County, IA 34.6 Healthy -0.3
Mahaska County, IA 29.4 Healthy -5.5
Marion County, IA 23.9 Healthy -11.0

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Monroe County
Sheridan County, ND 34.8 Healthy -0.0
Mountrail County, ND 35.0 Healthy +0.1
Hodgeman County, KS 34.8 Healthy -0.1
Winkler County, TX 34.8 Healthy -0.1
Cheyenne County, CO 35.0 Normal +0.2

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