About one in five people in Mahoning County, Ohio, lives below the poverty line
In Mahoning County, 19.3% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 84% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 81% of U.S. counties.
What drives Mahoning County's score
In Mahoning County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 77.4. Bankruptcy filings ran at 276.6 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 88% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 71.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Mahoning 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.
Mahoning County does better than most counties on one measure: people without health insurance (4.9%, 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 collector27.6% · August 202566th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people276.6 · 202588th percentile
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- 71.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202679th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.8% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
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- 65.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.8% · August 202570th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.3% · August 202565th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.1% · second quarter of 202660th percentile
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- 64.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.3% · 202485th percentile
- Children below the poverty line26.5% · 202485th percentile
- People with a disability17.0% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
- People without health insurance4.9% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,133 · 202475th percentile
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- 63.5 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 rent22.7% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.7% · fiscal year 202750th 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 Mahoning 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 Mahoning County, 22.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Mahoning County
Ohio
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Mahoning County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 29.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Mahoning County, Ohio, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Mahoning County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 16.2% in 2012 to 17.8% in 2013.
The share of households in Mahoning County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 19.0%
High on the chart: 19.6% in 2016. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Mahoning County, Ohio.
How Mahoning County has changed
Mahoning County's population fell most sharply after its 1974 high, from 306,295 in 1974 to 289,066 in 1979.
Mahoning County's population fell by about a quarter to 225,786, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 306,295 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Mahoning County, Ohio.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Mahoning County fell 11% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 2005 and 2010
High on the chart: 111,863 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Mahoning County, Ohio.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.3% | 2025 5.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.0% | 2024 19.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,584 | 2024 $58,133 |
The table uses 5.4% for 2025; the score uses 5.0% 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 Mahoning County's history
1955
A tornado in March 1955 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1956
A tornado in August 1956 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1970
The county's largest recorded population was the 1970 Census count of 303,424. The 2020 Census counted 228,614, 75% of the peak. Census Bureau
1970
Steelmaking jobs moved offshore as industry contracted in 1970s, city exemplified Rust Belt. Wikipedia
1984
A thunderstorm in June 1984 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
Lightning in June 1996 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1978
12 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Mahoning County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Mahoning County beside its neighbors
Mahoning County scores higher than all six counties that border it, in Ohio and Pennsylvania. For the share of income from benefit checks, Mahoning County ranks 5th of the seven; Columbiana County is highest, at 32.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mahoning County, OH | 81 | 19.3% | 29.1% |
| Trumbull County, OH | 75 | 13.3% | 31.3% |
| Columbiana County, OH | 69 | 14.7% | 32.4% |
| Lawrence County, PA | 59 | 14.3% | 30.7% |
| Mercer County, PA | 54 | 13.1% | 31.5% |
| Stark County, OH | 46 | 12.4% | 24.6% |
| Portage County, OH | 40 | 11.7% | 21.9% |
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 Mahoning County the poorest county in Ohio?
No, Mahoning County's poverty rate was 19.3% in 2024, 3rd 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, Mahoning County ranks 5th of 88 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Mahoning 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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Catholic Charities Regional Agency
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Community Legal Aid (Akron/Canton)
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 Mahoning 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 Mahoning County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.