About one in eight people in Miami County, Ohio, has a disability
In Miami County, 12.6% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 81% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 70% of U.S. counties.
What drives Miami County's score
In Miami County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 51.5. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 19.3. About one in 21 people (4.7%, 2020 to 2024) has no health insurance, a lower share than in 84% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Miami 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.
Miami 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.
- 51.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.9% · August 202545th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people143.4 · 202557th percentile
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- 45.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.4% · August 202548th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.9% · August 202560th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score34.9% · second quarter of 202629th percentile
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- 44.1 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 rent21.2% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.8% · fiscal year 202719th percentile
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- 30.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202630th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.5% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
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- 19.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.0% · 202422nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.2% · 202423rd percentile
- People with a disability12.6% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- People without health insurance4.7% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$83,948 · 202415th 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 Miami 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 Miami County, 19.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Miami County
Ohio
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Miami County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 15.3% in 2004 to 20.9% in 2009.
In Miami County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 20.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Miami County, Ohio, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Miami County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 6.7% in 2010 to 8.0% in 2011.
The share of households in Miami County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 6.5% 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, Miami County, Ohio.
How Miami County has changed
Miami County's population rose by about a third to 111,950, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 87,852. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Miami County, Ohio.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Miami County rose 13% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 44,758 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Miami County, Ohio.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.0% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 7.8% | 2024 10.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $29,987 | 2024 $83,948 |
The table uses 4.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% 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 Miami County's history
1989
A tornado in June 1989 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
Lightning in April 2001 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A flash flood in May 2014 did $1,300,000 in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A tornado in May 2019 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 108,774, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Miami County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Miami County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Miami County, two score higher. Of the group, Miami County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Clark County gets the largest, at 30.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark County, OH | 78 | 14.1% | 30.1% |
| Montgomery County, OH | 71 | 14.4% | 23.9% |
| Miami County, OH | 29 | 10.0% | 20.9% |
| Champaign County, OH | 27 | 8.2% | 25.1% |
| Darke County, OH | 27 | 11.6% | 22.8% |
| Shelby County, OH | 17 | 8.9% | 21.4% |
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 Miami County the poorest county in Ohio?
No, Miami County's poverty rate was 10.0% in 2024, 62nd 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, Miami County ranks 63rd of 88 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Miami 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.
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 Miami County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.