Benefit checks make up 33 cents of every dollar of income in Ashtabula County, Ohio
In Ashtabula County, 33.1% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 76% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 75% of U.S. counties.
What drives Ashtabula County's score
In Ashtabula County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 78.2. Bankruptcy filings ran at 246.8 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 84% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 70.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Ashtabula 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.
Ashtabula County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.5%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (19.9%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 78.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.2% · August 202571st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people246.8 · 202584th percentile
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- 70.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.4% · August 202578th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.7% · August 202569th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.8% · second quarter of 202663rd percentile
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- 67.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.2% · 202466th percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.1% · 202472nd percentile
- People with a disability17.2% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- People without health insurance10.3% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,480 · 202469th percentile
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- 55.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202634th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.5% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
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- 55.2 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 rent21.4% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.9% · fiscal year 202741st 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 Ashtabula 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 Ashtabula County, 20.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Ashtabula County
Ohio
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Ashtabula County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 33.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Ashtabula County, Ohio, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 33.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Ashtabula County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (13.5% in 2009) to 15.1% in 2010.
The share of households in Ashtabula County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 18.2%
Low on the chart: 13.5% 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, Ashtabula County, Ohio.
How Ashtabula County has changed
Ashtabula County's population had its largest rise, from 97,679 in 1969 to 101,120 in 1974.
Ashtabula County's population was about the same in 2024 as in 1969
High on the chart: 103,770 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Ashtabula County, Ohio.
The number of jobs located in Ashtabula County had its largest drop, from 33,685 in 2005 to 29,416 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Ashtabula County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 18% since
High on the chart: 35,409 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Ashtabula County, Ohio.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.8% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.2% | 2024 15.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,326 | 2024 $60,480 |
The table uses 4.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Ashtabula County's history
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 104,215. The 2020 Census counted 97,574, 94% of the peak. Census Bureau
1996
A thunderstorm in April 1996 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
A flash flood in July 2006 did $7.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
A flash flood in July 2006 did $12.8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
A flood in February 2020 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Ashtabula County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Ashtabula County beside its neighbors
Ashtabula County scores higher than all five counties that border it, in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Of the group, Ashtabula County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (33.1%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashtabula County, OH | 75 | 15.2% | 33.1% |
| Trumbull County, OH | 75 | 13.3% | 31.3% |
| Crawford County, PA | 57 | 16.8% | 32.1% |
| Erie County, PA | 54 | 14.7% | 27.8% |
| Lake County, OH | 22 | 7.5% | 21.1% |
| Geauga County, OH | 2 | 5.7% | 13.6% |
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 Ashtabula County the poorest county in Ohio?
No, Ashtabula County's poverty rate was 15.2% in 2024, 12th highest of 88 in Ohio (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Athens County, at 25.3%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Ashtabula County ranks 12th of 88 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Ashtabula 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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Legal Aid Society of Cleveland
Legal aid
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Ohio Legal Help
Legal help website
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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 Ashtabula 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 Ashtabula County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.