In Darke County, Ohio, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Darke County, 17.0% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 86% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 72% of U.S. counties.
What drives Darke County's score
In Darke County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 51.7. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 26.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Darke 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.
Darke 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.
- 51.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.3% · August 202543rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people151.7 · 202560th percentile
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- 38.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202637th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.1% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
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- 35.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.6% · 202436th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.5% · 202425th percentile
- People with a disability14.3% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- People without health insurance7.2% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,987 · 202438th percentile
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- 31.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.8% · August 202522nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.7% · August 202543rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.0% · second quarter of 202629th percentile
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- 26.2 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 rent16.3% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.0% · fiscal year 202713th 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 Darke 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 Darke County, 20.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Darke County
Ohio
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Darke County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 17.0% in 2004 to 23.5% in 2009.
In Darke County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 22.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Darke County, Ohio, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Darke County getting SNAP food aid rose most from 8.1% in 2011 to 11.3% in 2013, 1.6 points each year.
The share of households in Darke County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 8.1%
Low on the chart: 5.7% 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, Darke County, Ohio.
How Darke County has changed
Darke County's population rose most sharply from its first year (48,095 in 1969) to 53,883 in 1974.
Darke County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1979 and is down 7% since
High on the chart: 55,593 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Darke County, Ohio.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Darke County rose 12% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 19,095 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Darke County, Ohio.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.9% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.4% | 2024 11.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,753 | 2024 $70,987 |
The table uses 4.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Darke County's history
1809
Created in 1809, organized in 1817. Wikipedia
1955
A tornado in November 1955 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 55,096. The 2020 Census counted 51,881, 94% of the peak. Census Bureau
1980
A tornado in April 1980 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1992
A tornado in November 1992 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Darke County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Darke County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Darke County, in Ohio and Indiana, six score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Darke County ranks 6th of the nine; Wayne County is highest, at 31.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne County, IN | 84 | 18.3% | 31.8% |
| Montgomery County, OH | 71 | 14.4% | 23.9% |
| Jay County, IN | 62 | 14.7% | 26.2% |
| Randolph County, IN | 58 | 15.8% | 28.7% |
| Preble County, OH | 33 | 10.4% | 27.6% |
| Miami County, OH | 29 | 10.0% | 20.9% |
| Darke County, OH | 27 | 11.6% | 22.8% |
| Shelby County, OH | 17 | 8.9% | 21.4% |
| Mercer County, OH | 1 | 8.0% | 16.6% |
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 Darke County the poorest county in Ohio?
No, Darke County's poverty rate was 11.6% in 2024, 48th 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, Darke County ranks 67th of 88 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Darke 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.
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 Darke County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.