In Pocahontas County, Iowa, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Pocahontas County, 16.5% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 89% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 78% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pocahontas County's score
In Pocahontas County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 46.5. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 25.5. Bankruptcy filings ran at 57.3 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 86% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pocahontas 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.
Pocahontas 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.
- 46.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.0% · 202430th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.9% · 202448th percentile
- People with a disability16.7% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- People without health insurance7.6% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$67,268 · 202448th percentile
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- 37.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.1% · August 202560th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind0.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.4% · second quarter of 202647th percentile
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- 27.8 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 rent17.3% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.5% · fiscal year 202710th percentile
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- 27.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202616th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.9% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
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- 25.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector19.8% · August 202537th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people57.3 · 202513th 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 Pocahontas 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 Pocahontas County, 23.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pocahontas County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Pocahontas County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 25.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Pocahontas County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Pocahontas County getting SNAP food aid moved most in three steps: 7.3% in 2010 to 9.0% in 2011; 9.0% in 2011 to 10.7% in 2012; 12.4% in 2019 to 10.7% in 2020.
The share of households in Pocahontas County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen to 7.6%
Low on the chart: 6.9% 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, Pocahontas County, Iowa.
How Pocahontas County has changed
Pocahontas County's population had its largest drop, from 10,837 in 1984 to 9,713 in 1989.
Pocahontas County's population fell by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 7,006, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 2019 to 2024, reaching 7,006. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pocahontas County, Iowa.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Pocahontas County fell 15% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
High on the chart: 2,992 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pocahontas County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.2% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.5% | 2024 11.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,531 | 2024 $67,268 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.1% 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 Pocahontas County's history
1851
January 15, 1851 (created) May 11, 1859 (organized). Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 16,266. The 2020 Census counted 7,078, 44% of the peak. Census Bureau
1984
A tornado in April 1984 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A tornado in June 1984 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A tornado in June 1984 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pocahontas County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pocahontas County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Pocahontas County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Pocahontas County ranks 3rd of the six; Calhoun County is highest, at 25.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webster County, IA | 24 | 13.1% | 25.5% |
| Pocahontas County, IA | 21 | 11.0% | 25.5% |
| Buena Vista County, IA | 13 | 10.7% | 21.5% |
| Humboldt County, IA | 11 | 11.2% | 23.0% |
| Calhoun County, IA | 10 | 13.3% | 25.8% |
| Palo Alto County, IA | 3 | 11.8% | 22.7% |
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 Pocahontas County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Pocahontas County's poverty rate was 11.0% in 2024, 48th 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, Pocahontas County ranks 26th of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pocahontas 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 Pocahontas 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 Pocahontas County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.