In Monroe County, Iowa, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Monroe County, 16.0% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 92% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 81% of U.S. counties.
What drives Monroe County's score
In Monroe County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 44.2. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 14.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Monroe 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.
Monroe 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.
- 44.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.8% · August 202529th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people146.6 · 202558th percentile
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- 38.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit 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 behind4.9% · August 202545th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score36.8% · second quarter of 202636th percentile
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- 33.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.3% · 202433rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.0% · 202438th percentile
- People with a disability15.8% · 2020 to 202448th percentile
- People without health insurance3.6% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$69,366 · 202442nd percentile
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- 26.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202623rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.4% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
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- 14.5 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 rent12.8% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.0% · fiscal year 20277th 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 Monroe 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 Monroe County, 20.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Monroe County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Monroe County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 25.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Monroe County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Monroe County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 10.7% in 2019 to 14.4% in 2020.
The share of households in Monroe County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2020 to 2021, reaching 11.5%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Monroe County, Iowa.
How Monroe County has changed
Monroe County's population fell most sharply after its 1979 high, from 9,616 in 1979 to 8,696 in 1984.
Monroe County's population fell by about a fifth to 7,373, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 9,616 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Monroe County, Iowa.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Monroe County rose 43% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2005 and 2010
High on the chart: 3,569 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Monroe County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.5% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.9% | 2024 11.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,021 | 2024 $69,366 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.3% 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 Monroe County's history
1900
Welsh American community sizable at turn of 20th century, 83.8% of Welsh Americans in country worked in coal mining 1900. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 25,429. The 2020 Census counted 7,577, 30% of the peak. Census Bureau
1910
Monroe County was center of bituminous coal mining in early 20th century, population over 25,000 in 1910. Wikipedia
1984
A tornado in June 1984 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A flood in June 2015 did $1.03 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Monroe County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Monroe County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Monroe County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Monroe County ranks 4th of the six; Appanoose County is highest, at 33.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wapello County, IA | 63 | 15.6% | 30.3% |
| Appanoose County, IA | 49 | 15.8% | 33.8% |
| Lucas County, IA | 32 | 14.3% | 28.0% |
| Monroe County, IA | 18 | 11.3% | 25.2% |
| Mahaska County, IA | 6 | 11.6% | 22.9% |
| Marion County, IA | 4 | 9.8% | 19.9% |
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 Monroe County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Monroe County's poverty rate was 11.3% in 2024, 40th 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, Monroe County ranks 33rd of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Monroe 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 Monroe 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 Monroe County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.