About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Poweshiek County, Iowa, have a job
In Poweshiek County, 12.9% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 91% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 81% of U.S. counties.
What drives Poweshiek County's score
In Poweshiek County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 43.4. Jobs are the lowest part, at 10.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Poweshiek 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.
Poweshiek 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.
- 43.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.0% · August 202526th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people151.7 · 202560th percentile
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- 39.2 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 rent21.0% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.7% · fiscal year 202711th percentile
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- 35.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.7% · August 202568th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.6% · August 202526th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.2% · second quarter of 202611th percentile
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- 27.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.8% · 202438th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.5% · 202425th percentile
- People with a disability14.3% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- People without health insurance3.9% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,929 · 202433rd percentile
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- 10.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202612th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.9% · 2020 to 20248th 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 Poweshiek 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 Poweshiek County, 21.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Poweshiek County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Poweshiek County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 21.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Poweshiek County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Poweshiek County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (9.1% in 2009) to 11.1% in 2010.
The share of households in Poweshiek County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 9.1% 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, Poweshiek County, Iowa.
How Poweshiek County has changed
Poweshiek County's population made its largest gain on the way to its 1974 high, from 18,591 in 1969 to 19,204 in 1974.
Poweshiek County's population was about the same in 2024 as in 1969
High on the chart: 19,204 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Poweshiek County, Iowa.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Poweshiek County rose 9% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
High on the chart: 9,772 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Poweshiek County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.6% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.2% | 2024 11.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,196 | 2024 $72,929 |
The table uses 3.3% for 2025; the score uses 3.0% 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 Poweshiek County's history
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 19,910. The 2020 Census counted 18,662, 94% of the peak. Census Bureau
1978
A tornado in June 1978 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1978
A tornado in September 1978 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A thunderstorm in April 2010 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
A thunderstorm in August 2020 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Poweshiek County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Poweshiek County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Poweshiek County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Poweshiek County ranks 5th of the six; Keokuk County is highest, at 25.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keokuk County, IA | 24 | 11.5% | 25.7% |
| Tama County, IA | 19 | 11.6% | 24.6% |
| Jasper County, IA | 18 | 9.3% | 24.4% |
| Poweshiek County, IA | 18 | 11.8% | 21.7% |
| Mahaska County, IA | 6 | 11.6% | 22.9% |
| Iowa County, IA | 4 | 7.1% | 21.1% |
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 Poweshiek County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Poweshiek County's poverty rate was 11.8% in 2024, 31st 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, Poweshiek County ranks 34th of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Poweshiek 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 Poweshiek 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 Poweshiek County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.