About one in 12 people in Champaign County, Ohio, lives below the poverty line
In Champaign County, 8.2% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 90% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 72% of U.S. counties.
What drives Champaign County's score
In Champaign County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 66.0. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 12.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Champaign 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.
Champaign 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.
- 66.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector26.4% · August 202562nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people180.2 · 202569th percentile
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- 48.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.3% · August 202564th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.1% · August 202533rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.7% · second quarter of 202648th percentile
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- 37.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202637th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.6% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
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- 22.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.2% · 20249th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.1% · 202418th percentile
- People with a disability14.1% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- People without health insurance5.1% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$73,034 · 202433rd percentile
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- 12.2 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 rent8.6% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.2% · fiscal year 202715th 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 Champaign 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 Champaign County, 19.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Champaign County
Ohio
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Champaign County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 25.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Champaign County, Ohio, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Champaign County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 10.5% in 2010 to 13.0% in 2011; 14.6% in 2015 to 12.1% in 2016.
The share of households in Champaign County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 9.5% 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, Champaign County, Ohio.
How Champaign County has changed
Champaign County's population had its largest rise, from 30,445 in 1969 to 32,324 in 1974.
Champaign County's population rose by about a quarter from 1969 to 2024, reaching 38,907
High on the chart: 40,265 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Champaign County, Ohio.
The number of jobs located in Champaign County had its largest drop, from 11,072 in 2005 to 9,294 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Champaign County fell to its lowest on the chart in 2010, then climbed past the 1990 level
Low on the chart: 9,294 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Champaign County, Ohio.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.4% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.0% | 2024 8.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $30,196 | 2024 $73,034 |
The table uses 4.6% for 2025; the score uses 3.6% 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 Champaign County's history
1805
Became 18th of 88 Ohio counties on March 1, 1805, formed from parts of Greene and Franklin counties. Wikipedia
2008
A flash flood in July 2008 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 40,097. The 2020 Census counted 38,714, 97% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1978
11 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Champaign County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Champaign County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Champaign County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Champaign County ranks 3rd of the seven; Clark County is highest, at 30.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark County, OH | 78 | 14.1% | 30.1% |
| Logan County, OH | 32 | 9.7% | 26.3% |
| Madison County, OH | 32 | 8.8% | 19.7% |
| Miami County, OH | 29 | 10.0% | 20.9% |
| Champaign County, OH | 27 | 8.2% | 25.1% |
| Shelby County, OH | 17 | 8.9% | 21.4% |
| Union County, OH | 2 | 5.3% | 11.7% |
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 Champaign County the poorest county in Ohio?
No, Champaign County's poverty rate was 8.2% in 2024, 77th 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, Champaign County ranks 65th of 88 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Champaign 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 of Western Ohio (LAWO)
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 Champaign 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 Champaign County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.