About one in 15 people with a credit file in Winneshiek County, Iowa, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Winneshiek County, 6.5% 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 Winneshiek County's score
In Winneshiek County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 12.9. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 5.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Winneshiek 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.
Winneshiek 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.
- 12.9 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 rent12.6% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income13.9% · fiscal year 20275th or lower percentile
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- 10.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.9% · 202414th percentile
- Children below the poverty line7.9% · 20245th percentile
- People with a disability10.8% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- People without health insurance2.7% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$79,996 · 202420th 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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- 6.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind1.7% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.6% · August 20259th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score22.2% · second quarter of 20265th or lower percentile
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- 5.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector6.5% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people40.4 · 20256th 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 Winneshiek 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 Winneshiek County, 23.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Winneshiek County
Iowa
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Winneshiek County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 20.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Winneshiek County, Iowa, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.7%; 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 Winneshiek County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2022 to 2023, reaching 3.2%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Winneshiek County, Iowa.
How Winneshiek County has changed
Winneshiek County's population had its largest rise, from 20,744 in 1969 to 21,817 in 1974.
Winneshiek County's population fell 5% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 22,210 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Winneshiek County, Iowa.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Winneshiek County rose by about a third to 10,515, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 10,218. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Winneshiek County, Iowa.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.7% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.6% | 2024 8.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,003 | 2024 $79,996 |
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 Winneshiek County's history
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 23,731. The 2020 Census counted 20,070, 85% of the peak. Census Bureau
1987
A tornado in July 1987 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1988
A tornado in March 1988 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1990
Population loss during 1980s dropping to 20,847 by 1990 census. Wikipedia
2008
A flood in June 2008 did $2.7 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in August 2016 did $3.01 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Winneshiek County, 17 of them for flooding. FEMA
Winneshiek County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Winneshiek County, in Iowa and Minnesota, score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Winneshiek County ranks 6th of the seven; Fayette County is highest, at 28.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fayette County, IA | 19 | 12.9% | 28.7% |
| Allamakee County, IA | 13 | 10.5% | 24.2% |
| Houston County, MN | 10 | 8.6% | 23.6% |
| Fillmore County, MN | 6 | 8.1% | 25.6% |
| Chickasaw County, IA | 1 | 9.2% | 14.9% |
| Howard County, IA | 1 | 9.7% | 20.7% |
| Winneshiek County, IA | 0 | 8.9% | 20.7% |
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 Winneshiek County the poorest county in Iowa?
No, Winneshiek County's poverty rate was 8.9% in 2024, 78th 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, Winneshiek County ranks 98th of 99 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Winneshiek 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.
Download the CSV for Winneshiek County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
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 Winneshiek County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.