About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Mercer County, Ohio, have a job
In Mercer County, 11.9% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 98% of U.S. counties.
What drives Mercer County's score
In Mercer County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 24.3. Jobs are the lowest part, at 6.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Mercer 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.
Mercer 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.
- 24.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector15.4% · August 202520th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people84.8 · 202528th percentile
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- 18.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.8% · August 20259th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.2% · August 202535th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.5% · second quarter of 202611th percentile
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- 10.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.0% · 20248th percentile
- Children below the poverty line7.2% · 20244th percentile
- People with a disability10.9% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- People without health insurance3.6% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$75,311 · 202428th percentile
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- 7.6 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 rent7.8% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.1% · fiscal year 20277th percentile
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- 6.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20267th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working11.9% · 2020 to 20245th 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 Mercer 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 Mercer County, 19.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Mercer County
Ohio
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Mercer County had its largest rise, from 14.7% in 2004 to 18.5% in 2009.
In Mercer County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 16.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Mercer County, Ohio, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 16.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Mercer County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise in the last span, from 4.3% in 2023 to 6.8% in 2024.
The share of households in Mercer County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 4.3% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Mercer County, Ohio.
How Mercer County has changed
Mercer County's population rose by about a quarter to 42,648, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 37,596. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Mercer County, Ohio.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Mercer County rose by about a third to 20,220, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 19,458. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Mercer County, Ohio.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.6% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 6.9% | 2024 8.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $29,960 | 2024 $75,311 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 2.7% 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 Mercer County's history
1820
Mercer County was created in 1820 from land that had been attached to Darke and Shelby counties. An act establishing and fully organizing Mercer County took place on January 2, 1824. Wikipedia
1880
Oil and natural gas deposits discovered by 1880s, spurred town growth significantly. Wikipedia
1965
A tornado in April 1965 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A tornado in November 2017 did $11 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A tornado in November 2017 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
Deadly EF3 tornado May 27 2019 destroyed numerous homes and structures. Wikipedia
2019
A tornado in May 2019 did $15 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 42,528, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Mercer County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Mercer County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Mercer County, in Ohio and Indiana, score higher than it does. Of the group, Mercer County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Jay County gets the largest, at 26.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jay County, IN | 62 | 14.7% | 26.2% |
| Darke County, OH | 27 | 11.6% | 22.8% |
| Adams County, IN | 23 | 11.1% | 20.8% |
| Van Wert County, OH | 21 | 8.9% | 24.5% |
| Shelby County, OH | 17 | 8.9% | 21.4% |
| Auglaize County, OH | 5 | 7.0% | 21.2% |
| 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 Mercer County the poorest county in Ohio?
No, Mercer County's poverty rate was 8.0% in 2024, 79th 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, Mercer County ranks 88th of 88 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Mercer 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.
Download the CSV for Mercer 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 Mercer County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.