About three in ten people with a credit file in Clark County, Ohio, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Clark County, 30.9% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 76% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 78% of U.S. counties.
What drives Clark County's score
In Clark County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 77.4. Bankruptcy filings ran at 215.4 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 78% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 74.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Clark 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.
Clark County does better than most counties on one measure: people without health insurance (6.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 77.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.9% · August 202576th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people215.4 · 202578th percentile
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- 74.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.7% · August 202569th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.9% · August 202582nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score47.3% · second quarter of 202672nd percentile
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- 67.0 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 202662nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.6% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
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- 62.0 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 rent21.2% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.2% · fiscal year 202755th percentile
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- 54.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.1% · 202457th percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.0% · 202464th percentile
- People with a disability17.0% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
- People without health insurance6.6% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,529 · 202453rd 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 Clark 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 Clark 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
Clark County
Ohio
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Clark County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 30.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Clark County, Ohio, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 30.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Clark County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 14.4% in 2010 to 16.3% in 2011.
The share of households in Clark County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 18.0%
Low on the chart: 13.1% 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, Clark County, Ohio.
How Clark County has changed
Clark County's population fell most sharply after its 1974 high, from 155,828 in 1974 to 150,789 in 1979.
Clark County's population fell 12% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 155,828 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Clark County, Ohio.
The number of jobs located in Clark County had its largest drop, from 57,855 in 2000 to 51,132 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Clark County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 57,855 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Clark County, Ohio.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.0% | 2025 5.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.8% | 2024 14.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,226 | 2024 $65,529 |
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 Clark County's history
1818
Created March 1, 1818 from parts of Champaign, Madison, and Greene counties. Wikipedia
1970
The county's largest recorded population was the 1970 Census count of 157,115. The 2020 Census counted 136,001, 87% of the peak. Census Bureau
1974
A tornado in April 1974 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A flash flood in May 1998 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
Loss of manufacturing jobs. Wikipedia
2024
A tornado in February 2024 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1974
11 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Clark County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Clark County beside its neighbors
Clark County scores higher than all five counties that border it. Of the group, Clark County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (30.1%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark County, OH | 78 | 14.1% | 30.1% |
| Montgomery County, OH | 71 | 14.4% | 23.9% |
| Madison County, OH | 32 | 8.8% | 19.7% |
| Miami County, OH | 29 | 10.0% | 20.9% |
| Champaign County, OH | 27 | 8.2% | 25.1% |
| Greene County, OH | 21 | 9.9% | 19.1% |
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 Clark County the poorest county in Ohio?
No, Clark County's poverty rate was 14.1% in 2024, 25th 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, Clark County ranks 10th of 88 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Clark 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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Neighborhood Housing Partnership of Greater Springfield, Inc.
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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.
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 Clark County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.