In Scott County, Iowa, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Scott County, 16.0% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 92% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 69% of U.S. counties.
What drives Scott County's score
In Scott County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 48.2. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 27.3. About one in eight people (12.9%, 2020 to 2024) has a disability, a lower share than in 78% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Scott 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.
Scott 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.
- 48.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.2% · August 202542nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people134.8 · 202553rd percentile
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- 41.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.1% · August 202543rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.0% · August 202547th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.9% · second quarter of 202633rd percentile
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- 41.1 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 rent22.4% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.0% · fiscal year 20277th percentile
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- 35.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202649th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.0% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
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- 27.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.7% · 202437th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.0% · 202433rd percentile
- People with a disability12.9% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- People without health insurance5.2% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$78,991 · 202421st 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 Scott 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 Scott County, 17.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Scott County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Scott County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 19.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Scott County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 19.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Scott County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 9.6% in 2012 to 10.7% in 2013.
The share of households in Scott County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 10.3%
Low on the chart: 9.0% 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, Scott County, Iowa.
How Scott County has changed
Scott County's population rose by about a quarter to 175,601, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 159,627. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Scott County, Iowa.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Scott County rose by about a third to 92,986, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 92,986. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Scott County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.4% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.7% | 2024 11.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $29,780 | 2024 $78,991 |
The table uses 4.3% for 2025; the score uses 4.0% 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 Scott County's history
1980
Farm crisis of 1980s in Quad Cities negatively affected Davenport with total of 35,000 workers lost jobs throughout entire region. Wikipedia
1988
A tornado in May 1988 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1995
A tornado in May 1995 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1997
A thunderstorm in June 1997 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flood in June 2008 did $4.4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 174,669, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Scott County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Scott County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Scott County, in Iowa and Illinois, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Scott County ranks 4th of the five; Clinton County is highest, at 27.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Island County, IL | 53 | 12.6% | 24.7% |
| Clinton County, IA | 40 | 13.0% | 27.5% |
| Muscatine County, IA | 31 | 13.3% | 22.7% |
| Scott County, IA | 30 | 11.7% | 19.6% |
| Cedar County, IA | 5 | 7.9% | 18.1% |
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 Scott County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Scott County's poverty rate was 11.7% in 2024, 33rd 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, Scott County ranks 15th of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Scott 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 Scott County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.