Sac County, Iowa

County Distress Index: Healthy · 21.8 | 9,686 people · 92nd most distressed in Iowa
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Sac County, IA ranks among the least distressed counties in the country at 21.8 — 3094th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Income & Poverty, where household incomes are relatively strong and poverty rates are low. Within Iowa, it ranks 92nd of 99 counties. It scores lower than all 7 of its neighboring counties.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Sac County's primary driver is Income & Poverty at 28.7 — above the national median.

Income & Poverty Primary driver 28.7
Poverty Rate 21
Income vs. State Median 37
Child Poverty Rate 28
Employment & Wages 24.8
Unemployment Rate 27
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 19
Business Formation Rate 28
Debt & Delinquency 19.7
Debt in Collections 9
Medical Debt 23
Student Loan Delinquency 32
Auto Loan Delinquency 8
Credit Card Delinquency 31
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 16
Community Vulnerability 19.4
Uninsured Rate 20
Disability Rate 19
Housing Cost Burden 16.1
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 14
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 25
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 8
Homeownership Rate 29
Rent-to-Income Ratio 5

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Sac County compares to its 7 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Sac County
Sac County, IA 21.8 Healthy —
Crawford County, IA 43.2 Normal +21.4
Pocahontas County, IA 34.0 Healthy +12.3
Buena Vista County, IA 33.9 Healthy +12.1
Cherokee County, IA 32.4 Healthy +10.6
Calhoun County, IA 29.1 Healthy +7.3
Carroll County, IA 26.6 Healthy +4.8
Ida County, IA 23.6 Healthy +1.9

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Sac County
Oliver County, ND 21.7 Healthy -0.1
Stillwater County, MT 21.9 Healthy +0.1
Pembina County, ND 21.6 Healthy -0.2
Bottineau County, ND 21.4 Healthy -0.3
Kittson County, MN 22.2 Healthy +0.5

Download Data

Export all distress indicators for Sac County as a CSV file.

Find Help in Sac County

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Iowa State Bar Association Lawyer Referral 515-243-3179

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the distress score for Sac County, Iowa?

    Sac County has a County Distress Index score of 21.8 out of 100, placing it in the Healthy zone. It ranks 3,094th nationally out of 3,144 counties and 92nd in Iowa out of 99 counties.

  • What drives financial distress in Sac County?

    The primary driver of distress in Sac County is Income & Poverty, where the county scores 28.7 out of 100. This domain is measured by indicators including Poverty Rate, Income vs. State Median, Child Poverty Rate.

  • How does Sac County compare to neighboring counties?

    Sac County (21.8) can be compared to its 7 neighboring counties: Crawford County, IA (43.2); Pocahontas County, IA (34.0); Buena Vista County, IA (33.9).

  • How is the County Distress Index calculated?

    The County Distress Index uses percentile-rank averaging across five domains: Debt & Delinquency, Income & Poverty, Housing Cost Burden, Employment & Wages, and Community Vulnerability. Each county's indicators are ranked against all 3,144 U.S. counties. A score of 50 means the county is at the national median; higher scores indicate greater distress.

  • What is the population of Sac County?

    Sac County, Iowa has a population of approximately 9,686 (2023 Census estimate), classified as a tiny county.