About one in three people with a credit file in Marion County, Ohio, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Marion County, 32.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 80% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 73% of U.S. counties.
What drives Marion County's score
In Marion County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 74.3. Late payments on loans come next, at 71.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Marion 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.
Marion County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (5.4%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.8%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 74.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.6% · August 202580th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people172.7 · 202567th percentile
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- 71.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.6% · August 202567th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.0% · August 202572nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score47.5% · second quarter of 202673rd percentile
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- 59.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202645th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.0% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
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- 57.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.0% · 202470th percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.2% · 202469th percentile
- People with a disability17.2% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- People without health insurance5.4% · 2020 to 202424th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$63,276 · 202460th percentile
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- 56.7 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 rent20.6% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.5% · fiscal year 202748th 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 Marion 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 Marion County, 18.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Marion County
Ohio
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Marion County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 31.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Marion County, Ohio, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 31.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Marion County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 18.4% in 2019 to 15.3% in 2020.
The share of households in Marion County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 17.0%
Low on the chart: 12.7% 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, Marion County, Ohio.
How Marion County has changed
Marion County's population made its largest gain on the way to its 1994 high, from 64,307 in 1989 to 67,505 in 1994.
Marion County's population was about the same in 2024 as in 1969
High on the chart: 67,505 in 1994. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Marion County, Ohio.
The number of jobs located in Marion County had its largest drop, from 27,566 in 2005 to 24,326 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Marion County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 28,616 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Marion County, Ohio.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.1% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.5% | 2024 16.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,542 | 2024 $63,276 |
The table uses 4.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.8% 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 Marion County's history
1820
Marion County was erected by the state of Ohio on February 20, 1820 and later reorganized in 1824. Wikipedia
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 67,974. The 2020 Census counted 65,359, 96% of the peak. Census Bureau
2007
A thunderstorm in August 2007 did $1.3 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
A thunderstorm in June 2012 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
12 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Marion County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Marion County beside its neighbors
Marion County scores higher than all six counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Marion County ranks 2nd of the seven; Crawford County is highest, at 32.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marion County, OH | 73 | 16.0% | 31.6% |
| Crawford County, OH | 55 | 11.2% | 32.4% |
| Hardin County, OH | 50 | 14.3% | 28.9% |
| Morrow County, OH | 44 | 10.4% | 23.9% |
| Wyandot County, OH | 16 | 9.4% | 23.0% |
| 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 Marion County the poorest county in Ohio?
No, Marion County's poverty rate was 16.0% in 2024, 10th 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, Marion County ranks 14th of 88 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Marion 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 Marion 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 Marion County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.