About one in 14 people with a credit file in Sioux County, Iowa, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Sioux County, 7.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Sioux County's score
In Sioux County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 25.3. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 0.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Sioux 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.
Sioux 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.
- 25.3 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent17.9% · 2020 to 202448th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income14.7% · fiscal year 20272nd percentile
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- 11.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.3% · 20245th percentile
- Children below the poverty line7.1% · 20243rd percentile
- People with a disability9.0% · 2020 to 20242nd percentile
- People without health insurance5.8% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$81,746 · 202417th percentile
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- 4.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20262nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working11.9% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
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- 3.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind1.7% · August 20252nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.1% · August 20255th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score22.1% · second quarter of 20261st percentile
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- 0.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector7.0% · August 20250th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people19.3 · 20250th 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 Sioux 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 Sioux County, 16.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Sioux County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Sioux County had its largest rise, from 12.5% in 2004 to 16.9% in 2009.
In Sioux County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 14.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about five times as much as benefit checks
In Sioux County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 14.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Sioux County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2018 to 2019, reaching 4.7%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Sioux County, Iowa.
How Sioux County has changed
Sioux County's population rose by about a third to 36,554, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 30,560. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Sioux County, Iowa.
The number of jobs located in Sioux County had its largest rise in the last span, from 20,818 in 2020 to 23,005 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Sioux County doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 23,005, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2015 to 2020, reaching 20,818. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Sioux County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.8% | 2025 2.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.6% | 2024 7.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,616 | 2024 $81,746 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Sioux County's history
1851
January 15, 1851 (created) January 1, 1860 (organized). Wikipedia
1860
Created January 15, 1851; self-governed since January 20, 1860. Wikipedia
1869
Larger immigration wave to Sioux County began 1869, primarily of Dutch settlers. Wikipedia
1968
A tornado in September 1968 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
A thunderstorm in July 2005 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A tornado in May 2014 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 35,872, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2024
A flood in June 2024 did $6.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Sioux County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Sioux County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Sioux County, in Iowa and South Dakota, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Sioux County ranks 4th of the six; O'Brien County is highest, at 21.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| O'Brien County, IA | 6 | 9.3% | 21.0% |
| Union County, SD | 1 | 5.8% | 7.7% |
| Plymouth County, IA | 1 | 7.6% | 17.6% |
| Lincoln County, SD | 0 | 3.8% | 8.6% |
| Sioux County, IA | 0 | 7.3% | 14.2% |
| Lyon County, IA | 0 | 7.3% | 14.6% |
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 Sioux County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Sioux County's poverty rate was 7.3% in 2024, 91st 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, Sioux County ranks 97th of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Sioux 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 Sioux County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.