In Plymouth County, Iowa, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in seven dollars of the typical household's income
In Plymouth County, 13.7% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 98% of U.S. counties.
What drives Plymouth County's score
In Plymouth County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 30.3. Jobs are the lowest part, at 3.4. About one in 10 adults aged 25 to 54 (10.1%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a lower share than in 97% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Plymouth 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.
Plymouth 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.
- 30.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.2% · August 202515th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people116.6 · 202544th percentile
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- 12.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.6% · 20246th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.1% · 20249th percentile
- People with a disability11.5% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- People without health insurance5.3% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$88,903 · 202411th percentile
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- 10.1 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 rent12.1% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income13.7% · fiscal year 20270th percentile
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- 9.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.2% · August 20254th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.6% · August 202510th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score30.6% · second quarter of 202614th percentile
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- 3.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20264th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working10.1% · 2020 to 20242nd 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 Plymouth 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 Plymouth County, 19.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Plymouth County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Plymouth County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 17.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Plymouth County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 17.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Plymouth County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 5.4% in 2022 to 7.0% in 2023.
The share of households in Plymouth County getting SNAP food aid doubled from 2009 to 2023, reaching 7.0%, then turned down in 2024
High on the chart: 7.0% in 2016. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Plymouth County, Iowa.
How Plymouth County has changed
Plymouth County's population had its largest drop, from 24,970 in 1979 to 24,076 in 1984.
Plymouth County's population rose 6% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart
High on the chart: 25,825 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Plymouth County, Iowa.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Plymouth County nearly doubled to 11,642, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 9,619. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Plymouth County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.1% | 2025 2.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.5% | 2024 7.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,166 | 2024 $88,903 |
The table uses 2.6% for 2025; the score uses 2.5% 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 Plymouth County's history
1851
January 15, 1851 (created) October 27, 1858 (organized). Wikipedia
1885
Frederick Brooke Close founded Northwestern Polo League 1885 with British colony of affluent young Englishmen to learn farm management on American prairie; colony failed early 1890s and British returned home. Wikipedia
1933
During Great Depression, Farmers Holiday Group organized to keep farm products off market for desired price; radical members abducted Judge Bradley from court chamber and threatened to hang him; governor ordered national guard and declared state of emergency. Wikipedia
1964
A tornado in May 1964 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1978
A tornado in July 1978 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1980
A tornado in June 1980 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1994
A tornado in June 1994 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 25,698, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Plymouth County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Plymouth County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Plymouth County, in Iowa and South Dakota, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Plymouth County ranks 2nd of the five; Woodbury County is highest, at 23.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodbury County, IA | 39 | 13.6% | 23.0% |
| Cherokee County, IA | 11 | 10.4% | 17.0% |
| Union County, SD | 1 | 5.8% | 7.7% |
| Plymouth County, IA | 1 | 7.6% | 17.6% |
| Sioux County, IA | 0 | 7.3% | 14.2% |
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 Plymouth County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Plymouth County's poverty rate was 7.6% in 2024, 89th 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, Plymouth County ranks 93rd of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Plymouth 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 Plymouth 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 Plymouth County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.