About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Sac County, Iowa, have a job
In Sac County, 9.2% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 96% of U.S. counties.
What drives Sac County's score
In Sac County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 29.8. Jobs are the lowest part, at 7.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Sac 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.
Sac 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.
- 29.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.5% · 202435th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.9% · 202438th percentile
- People with a disability13.5% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
- People without health insurance4.8% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$73,294 · 202432nd percentile
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- 26.5 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 rent17.8% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.2% · fiscal year 20275th or lower percentile
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- 16.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.4% · August 202530th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.4% · August 20257th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.3% · second quarter of 202611th percentile
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- 12.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.3% · August 20259th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people61.9 · 202515th percentile
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- 7.1 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 20269th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working9.2% · 2020 to 20245th or lower 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 Sac 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 Sac County, 24.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Sac County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Sac County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 21.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Sac County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Sac County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 8.2% in 2019 to 9.3% in 2020.
The share of households in Sac County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 6.1% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Sac County, Iowa.
How Sac County has changed
Sac County's population had its largest drop, from 14,329 in 1979 to 13,277 in 1984.
Sac County's population fell 39% from 1969 to 2024, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 2009 to 2014, reaching 10,136. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Sac County, Iowa.
The number of jobs located in Sac County fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 3,223 in 2015 to 2,886 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Sac County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 15% since
High on the chart: 3,493 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Sac County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.0% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.4% | 2024 11.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,765 | 2024 $73,294 |
The table uses 3.2% 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 Sac County's history
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 17,641. The 2020 Census counted 9,814, 56% of the peak. Census Bureau
1984
A tornado in April 1984 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1991
A tornado in April 1991 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Sac County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Sac County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Sac County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Sac County ranks 4th of the six; Calhoun County is highest, at 25.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crawford County, IA | 22 | 11.7% | 23.4% |
| Buena Vista County, IA | 13 | 10.7% | 21.5% |
| Calhoun County, IA | 10 | 13.3% | 25.8% |
| Sac County, IA | 3 | 11.5% | 21.5% |
| Ida County, IA | 2 | 10.6% | 21.1% |
| Carroll County, IA | 0 | 8.0% | 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 Sac County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Sac County's poverty rate was 11.5% in 2024, 38th 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, Sac County ranks 80th of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Sac 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.
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 Sac County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.