About one in 23 people in Delaware County, Ohio, lives below the poverty line
In Delaware County, 4.3% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 98% of U.S. counties.
What drives Delaware County's score
In Delaware County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 23.8. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 3.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Delaware 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.
Delaware 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.
- 23.8 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 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 income14.1% · fiscal year 20271st percentile
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- 19.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector10.5% · August 20254th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people96.3 · 202534th percentile
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- 14.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202618th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working13.4% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
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- 8.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.3% · August 20255th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.2% · August 202518th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score20.6% · second quarter of 20260th percentile
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- 3.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line4.3% · 20240th percentile
- Children below the poverty line3.6% · 20240th percentile
- People with a disability8.4% · 2020 to 20241st percentile
- People without health insurance4.7% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$136,215 · 20240th 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 Delaware 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 Delaware County, 15.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Delaware County
Ohio
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Delaware County moved most in three steps: 5.9% in 1969 to 7.3% in 1974; 8.5% in 1984 to 7.1% in 1989; 5.9% in 1999 to 7.3% in 2004.
In Delaware County, benefit checks' share of income has risen by more than half since 1969, reaching 9.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about eight times as much as benefit checks
In Delaware County, Ohio, benefit checks' share of income rose by more than half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 9.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Delaware County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 4.4% in 2011 to 4.9% in 2012; 4.3% in 2016 to 3.8% in 2017.
The share of households in Delaware County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 3.6% in 2018. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Delaware County, Ohio.
How Delaware County has changed
Delaware County's population had its largest rise, from 105,518 in 1999 to 141,348 in 2004.
Delaware County's population grew to about six times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 237,966, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 57,053. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Delaware County, Ohio.
The number of jobs located in Delaware County had its largest rise, from 35,298 in 2000 to 62,080 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Delaware County grew to about five times its 1990 size in 2025, reaching 100,816, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2015 to 2020, reaching 84,743. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Delaware County, Ohio.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.5% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 6.3% | 2024 4.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $39,615 | 2024 $136,215 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.1% 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 Delaware County's history
1808
Formed in 1808 from Franklin County, Ohio. Wikipedia
1965
A tornado in April 1965 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
A tornado in September 2000 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
Hail in April 2003 did $65 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 214,124, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2024
A tornado in March 2024 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Delaware County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Delaware County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Delaware County score higher than it does. Of the group, Delaware County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Marion County gets the largest, at 31.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marion County, OH | 73 | 16.0% | 31.6% |
| Franklin County, OH | 60 | 13.9% | 16.5% |
| Morrow County, OH | 44 | 10.4% | 23.9% |
| Licking County, OH | 39 | 9.2% | 19.9% |
| Knox County, OH | 28 | 10.7% | 25.2% |
| Union County, OH | 2 | 5.3% | 11.7% |
| Delaware County, OH | 1 | 4.3% | 9.3% |
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 Delaware County the poorest county in Ohio?
No, Delaware County's poverty rate was 4.3% in 2024, the lowest 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, Delaware County ranks 86th of 88 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Delaware 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 Southeast and Central Ohio (LASCO)
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 Delaware 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 Delaware County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.