Benefit checks make up 32 cents of every dollar of income in Crawford County, Ohio
In Crawford County, 32.4% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 74% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 55% of U.S. counties.
What drives Crawford County's score
In Crawford County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 68.5. Bankruptcy filings ran at 209.5 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 77% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 66.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Crawford 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.
Crawford County does better than most counties on two measures: adults 25 to 54 not working (17.2%, 2020 to 2024) and people below the poverty line (11.2%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 68.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector25.8% · August 202559th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people209.5 · 202577th percentile
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- 66.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.4% · August 202577th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.1% · August 202562nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.0% · second quarter of 202659th percentile
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- 46.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.2% · 202432nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.9% · 202443rd percentile
- People with a disability16.0% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
- People without health insurance6.1% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$59,571 · 202471st percentile
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- 43.7 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 working17.2% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
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- 43.1 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 rent16.7% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.2% · fiscal year 202744th 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 Crawford 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 Crawford County, 21.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Crawford County
Ohio
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Crawford County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about five times its 1969 level, reaching 32.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Crawford County, Ohio, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 32.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Crawford County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 13.7% in 2012 to 15.8% in 2013.
The share of households in Crawford County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 13.8%
Low on the chart: 10.4% 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, Crawford County, Ohio.
How Crawford County has changed
Crawford County's population fell most in two steps: 50,803 in 1979 to 48,948 in 1984; 45,776 in 2004 to 43,921 in 2009.
Crawford County's population fell 17% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 51,412 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Crawford County, Ohio.
The number of jobs located in Crawford County had its largest drop, from 15,635 in 2005 to 12,893 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Crawford County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 17,356 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Crawford County, Ohio.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.9% | 2025 5.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.6% | 2024 11.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,012 | 2024 $59,571 |
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 Crawford County's history
1820
Created in 1820, organized in 1836. Wikipedia
1970
The county's largest recorded population was the 1970 Census count of 50,364. The 2020 Census counted 42,025, 83% of the peak. Census Bureau
2007
A flash flood in August 2007 did $62 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flood in February 2011 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A tornado in September 2017 did $1.25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A tornado in April 2024 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Crawford County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Crawford County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Crawford County, two score higher. Of the group, Crawford County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (32.4%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marion County, OH | 73 | 16.0% | 31.6% |
| Richland County, OH | 59 | 13.5% | 29.8% |
| Crawford County, OH | 55 | 11.2% | 32.4% |
| Huron County, OH | 54 | 11.7% | 26.9% |
| Seneca County, OH | 47 | 13.0% | 30.5% |
| Morrow County, OH | 44 | 10.4% | 23.9% |
| Wyandot County, OH | 16 | 9.4% | 23.0% |
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 Crawford County the poorest county in Ohio?
No, Crawford County's poverty rate was 11.2% in 2024, 54th 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, Crawford County ranks 36th of 88 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Crawford 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 Crawford 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 Crawford County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.