Union County, Iowa

County Distress Index: Normal · 45.0 | 11,906 people · 15th most distressed in Iowa

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Union County, IA falls within the normal range for household financial distress at 45.0 — 1991st nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Income & Poverty, where income and poverty levels indicate moderate economic strain. Within Iowa, it ranks 15th of 99 counties. Among its 7 neighboring counties, 6 show less distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Union County's primary driver is Income & Poverty at 61.0 — above the national median.

Income & Poverty Primary driver 61.0
Poverty Rate 51
Income vs. State Median 83
Child Poverty Rate 49
Community Vulnerability 48.2
Uninsured Rate 48
Disability Rate 48
Employment & Wages 46.8
Unemployment Rate 52
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 21
Business Formation Rate 67
Housing Cost Burden 44.1
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 25
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 52
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 57
Homeownership Rate 61
Rent-to-Income Ratio 25
Debt & Delinquency 24.7
Debt in Collections 35
Medical Debt 35
Student Loan Delinquency 15
Auto Loan Delinquency 5
Credit Card Delinquency 5
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 54

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

Neighbors and Peers

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

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Union County
Union County, IA 45.0 Normal
Decatur County, IA 51.8 Elevated +6.8
Clarke County, IA 40.9 Normal -4.0
Ringgold County, IA 39.7 Normal -5.3
Taylor County, IA 34.4 Healthy -10.6
Adams County, IA 33.8 Healthy -11.2
Adair County, IA 31.1 Healthy -13.9
Madison County, IA 29.6 Healthy -15.4

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Union County
Sanpete County, UT 45.0 Normal +0.0
Clay County, IN 45.0 Normal +0.0
White County, IN 45.0 Normal +0.0
Fergus County, MT 45.0 Normal +0.0
Wakulla County, FL 44.9 Normal -0.1

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