About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Brown County, Ohio, are not working
In Brown County, 28.1% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 84% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 68% of U.S. counties.
What drives Brown County's score
In Brown County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 78.7. Bankruptcy filings ran at 242.1 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 83% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 72.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Brown 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.
Brown County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (18.0%, fiscal year 2027) and people without health insurance (6.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 78.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.0% · August 202573rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people242.1 · 202583rd percentile
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- 72.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202659th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working28.1% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
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- 63.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.5% · August 202566th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.1% · August 202562nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.1% · second quarter of 202660th percentile
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- 55.6 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 line20.2% · 202465th percentile
- People with a disability17.9% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- People without health insurance6.4% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$68,663 · 202444th percentile
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- 34.0 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 rent17.5% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.0% · fiscal year 202721st 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 Brown 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 Brown County, 19.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Brown County
Ohio
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Brown County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 30.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Brown County, Ohio, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.3%; 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 Brown County getting SNAP food aid doubled to 16.9%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2011 to 2012, reaching 12.2%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Brown County, Ohio.
How Brown County has changed
Brown County's population had its largest rise, from 34,574 in 1989 to 38,154 in 1994.
Brown County's population nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 44,292
High on the chart: 44,740 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Brown County, Ohio.
The number of jobs located in Brown County had its largest rise, from 6,631 in 1995 to 7,494 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Brown County rose 29% from 1990 to 2025
High on the chart: 8,127 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Brown County, Ohio.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.4% | 2025 5.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.3% | 2024 15.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,173 | 2024 $68,663 |
The table uses 5.3% for 2025; the score uses 4.2% 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 Brown County's history
1818
Created March 1, 1818 from portions of Adams and Clermont counties, with Georgetown as seat. Wikipedia
1864
White Burley tobacco originated and grown. Wikipedia
1968
A tornado in April 1968 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1968
A tornado in April 1968 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1997
A flash flood in March 1997 did $2 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 44,846. The 2020 Census counted 43,676, 97% of the peak. Census Bureau
2015
A flash flood in July 2015 did $3 million in property damage and killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1968
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Brown County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Brown County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Brown County, in Ohio and Kentucky, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Brown County ranks 5th of the seven; Adams County is highest, at 36.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adams County, OH | 88 | 17.4% | 36.3% |
| Mason County, KY | 82 | 15.2% | 31.4% |
| Bracken County, KY | 81 | 13.8% | 33.4% |
| Brown County, OH | 68 | 15.2% | 30.3% |
| Highland County, OH | 55 | 14.6% | 31.4% |
| Clinton County, OH | 50 | 11.9% | 26.1% |
| Clermont County, OH | 33 | 8.6% | 20.6% |
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 Brown County the poorest county in Ohio?
No, Brown 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, Brown County ranks 22nd of 88 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Brown 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 Greater Cincinnati
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.
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 Brown County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.