Benefit checks make up 33 cents of every dollar of income in Montgomery County, Iowa
In Montgomery County, 32.5% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 74% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 50% of U.S. counties.
What drives Montgomery County's score
In Montgomery County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 61.1. Housing costs come next, at 56.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Montgomery 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.
Montgomery County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a car or retail loan behind (1.7%, August 2025) and people without health insurance (3.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 61.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.7% · August 202548th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people197.3 · 202574th percentile
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- 56.6 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 rent30.0% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.6% · fiscal year 202718th percentile
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- 51.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.6% · 202461st percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.9% · 202459th percentile
- People with a disability18.1% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- People without health insurance3.7% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$63,117 · 202460th percentile
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- 48.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.5% · August 202578th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.7% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.1% · second quarter of 202660th percentile
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- 33.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20268th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.2% · 2020 to 202459th 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 Montgomery 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 Montgomery County, 23.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Montgomery County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Montgomery County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 32.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Montgomery County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Montgomery County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 15.6% in 2022 to 12.5% in 2023.
The share of households in Montgomery County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 11.7% 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, Montgomery County, Iowa.
How Montgomery County has changed
Montgomery County's population had its largest drop, from 13,166 in 1984 to 12,110 in 1989.
Montgomery County's population fell by about a fifth to 10,063, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 13,443 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Montgomery County, Iowa.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Montgomery County fell by about a fifth from 1990 to 2025, reaching 4,004, with most of the change between 2005 and 2010
High on the chart: 5,285 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Montgomery County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.6% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.8% | 2024 14.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,708 | 2024 $63,117 |
The table uses 2.9% for 2025; the score uses 2.8% 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 Montgomery County's history
1851
January 15, 1851 (created) August 15, 1853 (organized). Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 17,803. The 2020 Census counted 10,330, 58% of the peak. Census Bureau
2007
A flash flood in May 2007 did $1.13 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Montgomery County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Montgomery County beside its neighbors
Montgomery County scores higher than all five counties that border it. Of the group, Montgomery County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (32.5%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery County, IA | 50 | 14.6% | 32.5% |
| Pottawattamie County, IA | 46 | 13.9% | 27.1% |
| Cass County, IA | 24 | 11.6% | 26.2% |
| Page County, IA | 22 | 14.5% | 30.5% |
| Mills County, IA | 14 | 9.8% | 21.6% |
| Adams County, IA | 13 | 12.1% | 27.8% |
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 Montgomery County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Montgomery County's poverty rate was 14.6% in 2024, 7th 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, Montgomery County ranks 3rd of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Montgomery 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 Montgomery 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 Montgomery County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.