#768 Ohio · 2026

Jackson County, Ohio

64.7 · moderate-high county distress 768th of 3,144 counties nationally · 32,606 residents How this is calculated →
The headline number
9% Jackson residents
vs.
5% U.S. median

Above the national median for credit card delinquency.

Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)

Main Findings

Wire lede · 40 words · paste-ready

Jackson County, Ohio ranks 768th most distressed in the United States on the County Distress Index. The driver: 9% of credit card accounts are 60+ days past due — above the national median of 5%. Its highest-scoring domain is Delinquency.

Key Findings
  • 768th of 3,144 counties on the County Distress Index — 64.7 · moderate-high county distress, 7th in Ohio.
  • 9% of credit card accounts are 60+ days past due (U.S. median 5%). Credit card delinquency at the 91st percentile nationally. Source: Urban Institute Debt in America (2025).
  • Bankruptcy filing rate at 212 — national median 126, ranked at the 77th percentile. Source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, F-5A (2025).
  • Disability rate at 22% — national median 16%, ranked at the 90th percentile. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023).
  • Severe rent burden (50%+) at 24% — national median 18%, ranked at the 83rd percentile. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023).
Distinctive Signals
Labor–Credit Divergence

Unemployment is 3%, near the national median of 4%, while credit card delinquency runs at the 91st percentile. Jobs exist; wages don't close the gap.

County Distress Index cluster map. Jackson County, Ohio and its neighbors colored by county distress score label.
Jackson and its 6 geographic neighbors, graded by County Distress Index score. Jackson County ranks 768th of 3,144. American Default Research
Wire summary — paste-ready, any angle 21 words

Jackson County has a moderate-high county distress score. The domain mix shows whether pressure is concentrated or spread across the profile.

— American Default Research
Index note — for feature use 31 words

The CDI gives this county a moderate-high county distress label. The domain table shows whether the score comes from debt, labor, safety-net pressure, or a mix. Its highest-scoring domain is Delinquency.

— American Default Research

Indicator History

Period-correct raw indicators from the county-history panel. The CDI composite is excluded because it is a current cross-sectional score.

Updated Jul 1, 2026
BLS 1990 to 2025

Unemployment rate

5.9% -3.5 pp since 1990
Census 1989 to 2024

Poverty rate

15.5% -4.4 pp since 1989
BEA 1969 to 2024

Transfer income share

36.1% +20.9 pp since 1969
FRED/Equifax 2014 Q2 to 2025 Q4

Subprime credit population

28.3% -10.4 pp since 2014 Q2

The Indicators Behind Jackson County's CDI Score

Every number traces to a public source. Jackson County's value shown alongside OH's median and the U.S. median. Full CSV available for download.

How to read the table. A domain score is a 0–100 composite of the indicators in that domain; higher values represent a higher mean of distress-oriented indicator percentiles. A county's domain rank is computed separately against all counties. Percentile is Jackson County's national rank among all 3,144 U.S. counties for that indicator, always oriented so higher = more distressed.
Indicator Jackson OH median U.S. median Pctile Source
Delinquency — domain score 80 · Rank 538 of 3,144
Auto loan delinquency Share of auto loan accounts 60+ days past due 8% 5% 5% 80th Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)
Credit card delinquency Share of credit card accounts 60+ days past due 9% 5% 5% 91st Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)
Subprime credit share Share of residents with a credit score below 660 28% 24% 23% 69th Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Equifax (2025)
Default & Legal — domain score 76 · Rank 536 of 3,144
Debt in collections Share of residents with a credit file who have debt in collections 31% 24% 23% 76th Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)
Bankruptcy filing rate Personal bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents 212 187 126 77th Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, F-5A (2025)
Debt Burden (housing basis) — domain score 68 · Rank 785 of 3,144
Rent-to-income ratio Fair Market Rent (2BR) as share of median household income 21% 20% 21% 53rd HUD FMR (FY2026); U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023)
Severe rent burden (50%+) Share of renter households paying 50%+ of income on rent 24% 18% 18% 83rd U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023)
Labor — domain score 30 · Rank 2,157 of 3,144
Unemployment Share of labor force unemployed 3% 3% 4% 30th U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS (May 2026)
Safety Net & Buffer — domain score 69 · Rank 820 of 3,144
Child poverty rate Share of children under 18 below the federal poverty line 22% 17% 18% 71st U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023)
Disability rate Share of residents reporting a disability 22% 15% 16% 90th U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023)
Poverty rate Share of population below the federal poverty line 17% 13% 14% 75th U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023)
Uninsured rate Share of residents without health insurance coverage 6% 6% 8% 35th U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023)
Data compiled May 2026 from Urban Institute Debt in America (2025 panel), U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-yr 2023, SAIPE 2023, Business Formation Statistics 2024), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (LAUS May 2026, QCEW 2024), Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (F-5A bankruptcy filings 2025), and HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2026).

Five-Domain Breakdown

The CDI is an equal-weight composite of five family-v1 distress domains. Each domain contributes 20% of the county score.

Delinquency Primary driver 80
Weight 20% · Rank 538 of 3,144
Default & Legal 76
Weight 20% · Rank 536 of 3,144
Safety Net & Buffer 69
Weight 20% · Rank 820 of 3,144
Debt Burden (housing basis) 68
Weight 20% · Rank 785 of 3,144
Labor 30
Weight 20% · Rank 2,157 of 3,144

Methodology

The County Distress Index is a 0–100 composite score of household financial distress, computed for all 3,144 U.S. counties. Higher scores indicate greater distress. The index is built from five equal-weighted domains: Delinquency, Default & Legal, Debt Burden, Labor, and Safety Net & Buffer. Each domain is the mean of distress-oriented indicator percentiles; the CDI score is the equal-weight mean of those domain scores.

Data sources include the Urban Institute Debt in America (Equifax consumer credit panel), FRED/Equifax (subprime credit share), U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates), Bureau of Labor Statistics (Local Area Unemployment Statistics), U.S. Courts Administrative Office (F-5A bankruptcy filings), and HUD Fair Market Rents. Data vintages range from 2022 to 2026 depending on source; full indicator-level vintage detail is in the methodology document.

For Press & Research

Everything you need to cite Jackson County data — in under 60 seconds.

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Press contact: Ross Kilburn · press@americandefault.org · (307) 264-2992 · same-day response, 9am–6pm ET
Draft wire copy 129-word AP-style article — use freely with attribution
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JACKSON, Ohio — Jackson County ranks 768th among the nation's most financially distressed counties, according to the County Distress Index released this month by American Default Research.

The composite score of 64.7 out of 100 gives Jackson a moderate-high county distress label. Among 3,144 U.S. counties scored, 767 counties rank more distressed. Within Ohio, Jackson ranks seventh of 88 counties.

The index, which draws on 13 source indicators from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Urban Institute and federal court filings, identifies delinquency as the primary driver in Jackson. 9% of credit card accounts are 60+ days past due — above the national median of 5%.

American Default Research founder Ross Kilburn is available for interview at press@americandefault.org.

Full methodology and county-by-county data are available at americandefault.org/methodology/cdi.

— 30 —

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Jackson County's CDI score, and what does it mean?

Jackson County scores 64.7 out of 100 on the County Distress Index, with the score label moderate-high county distress. It ranks 768th of 3,144 U.S. counties and 7th of 88 Ohio counties. Higher county scores indicate more distress.

What drives Jackson County's distress score?

The highest-scoring domain is Delinquency, at a domain score of 80. Credit card delinquency ranks at the 91st percentile nationally.

How does Jackson County compare to its neighbors?

Jackson County's neighbors span two CDI score labels. Highest-distress neighbor: Scioto County (67.69, moderate-high county distress). Lowest: Vinton County (53.44, moderate county distress).

How is the County Distress Index calculated?

The CDI is a 0–100 composite of 13 source indicators across five equal-weighted domains: Delinquency, Default & Legal, Debt Burden, Labor, and Safety Net & Buffer. Data comes from Urban Institute, Census Bureau, BLS, U.S. Courts, HUD, and related public sources. Full methodology →
Ross Kilburn
Written by

Ross Kilburn, Founder

Founder · American Default Research · Seattle, Washington

Two decades working directly with financially distressed American households — from property preservation in 2003, to negotiating over 1,000 short sales during the Great Recession, to foreclosure defense marketing today. Author, The Ark Law Group Complete Guide to Short Sales (Auroch Press, 2013). Founded American Default Research in 2026.

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