About one in five people with a credit file in Monroe County, Ohio, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Monroe County, 19.3% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 65% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 53% of U.S. counties.
What drives Monroe County's score
In Monroe County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 78.0. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 31.8. People with a credit card behind: 4.1%, August 2025, lower than in 73% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Monroe 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.
Even so, Monroe County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.1%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 78.0 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202684th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.6% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
-
- 59.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.8% · 202455th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.9% · 202459th percentile
- People with a disability17.2% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- People without health insurance7.7% · 2020 to 202448th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,813 · 202473rd percentile
-
- 37.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector19.3% · August 202535th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people106.4 · 202539th percentile
-
- 33.2 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 rent11.9% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.5% · fiscal year 202747th percentile
-
- 31.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.1% · August 202526th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.5% · August 202540th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score34.6% · second quarter of 202627th percentile
-
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 Monroe 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 Monroe County, 23.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Monroe County
Ohio
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Monroe County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 35.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a fifth more than benefit checks
In Monroe County, Ohio, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 35.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Monroe County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 13.6% in 2017 to 15.2% in 2018.
The share of households in Monroe County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and has since fallen to 13.4%
Low on the chart: 10.8% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Monroe County, Ohio.
How Monroe County has changed
Monroe County's population had its largest rise, from 15,897 in 1974 to 17,102 in 1979.
Monroe County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1979 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 17,102 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Monroe County, Ohio.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Monroe County fell by about half to 2,736, the lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 2000 and 2005
High on the chart: 5,165 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Monroe County, Ohio.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.8% | 2025 6.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.1% | 2024 13.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,115 | 2024 $58,813 |
The table uses 6.7% for 2025; the score uses 5.1% 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 Monroe County's history
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 27,031. The 2020 Census counted 13,385, 50% of the peak. Census Bureau
1901
Oil wells near Woodsfield producing 55,000 barrels monthly by 1901. Wikipedia
1996
A flash flood in July 1996 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1997
A flash flood in March 1997 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A flash flood in June 1998 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
Lightning in February 2008 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
Utica Shale gas leases acquired by ExxonMobil subsidiary. Wikipedia
-
Since 1968
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Monroe County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Monroe County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Monroe County, in Ohio and West Virginia, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Monroe County ranks 2nd of the seven; Wetzel County is highest, at 38.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marshall County, WV | 72 | 17.6% | 27.8% |
| Belmont County, OH | 69 | 15.1% | 28.8% |
| Tyler County, WV | 56 | 16.6% | 26.7% |
| Wetzel County, WV | 55 | 16.5% | 38.9% |
| Washington County, OH | 47 | 13.8% | 27.1% |
| Monroe County, OH | 46 | 13.8% | 35.9% |
| Noble County, OH | 39 | 13.9% | 30.3% |
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 Monroe County the poorest county in Ohio?
No, Monroe County's poverty rate was 13.8% in 2024, 28th 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, Monroe County ranks 47th of 88 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Monroe 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.
-
Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio (LASCO)
Legal aid
-
Ohio Legal Help
Legal help website
-
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 Monroe 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 Monroe County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.