About three in ten people with a credit file in Montgomery County, Ohio, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Montgomery County, 30.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 75% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 71% of U.S. counties.
What drives Montgomery County's score
In Montgomery County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 78.9. Bankruptcy filings ran at 231.2 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 82% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 70.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Montgomery 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.
Montgomery County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (6.5%, 2020 to 2024) and adults 25 to 54 not working (19.0%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 78.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.6% · August 202575th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people231.2 · 202582nd percentile
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- 70.5 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 rent22.1% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.6% · fiscal year 202767th percentile
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- 67.6 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 behind6.7% · August 202569th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.8% · second quarter of 202662nd percentile
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- 51.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.4% · 202460th percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.2% · 202465th percentile
- People with a disability15.2% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- People without health insurance6.5% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,349 · 202451st percentile
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- 46.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202653rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.0% · 2020 to 202439th 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 Montgomery 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 Montgomery County, 18.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Montgomery County
Ohio
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Montgomery County, benefit checks' share of income has grown since 1969, reaching 23.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Montgomery County, Ohio, benefit checks' share of income rose from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Montgomery County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 12.7% in 2011 to 14.4% in 2012.
The share of households in Montgomery 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: 10.6% 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, Montgomery County, Ohio.
How Montgomery County has changed
Montgomery County's population had its largest drop, from 601,509 in 1969 to 585,069 in 1974.
Montgomery County's population fell 11% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 601,509 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Montgomery County, Ohio.
The number of jobs located in Montgomery County fell most sharply on the way to its 2010 low, from 280,583 in 2005 to 239,472 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Montgomery County fell by about a quarter from 1990 to 2020, reaching 240,012, then turned up in 2025
High on the chart: 313,363 in 1990. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Montgomery County, Ohio.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.1% | 2025 5.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.8% | 2024 14.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $29,029 | 2024 $66,349 |
The table uses 5.0% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Montgomery County's history
1969
A tornado in May 1969 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1970
The county's largest recorded population was the 1970 Census count of 606,148. The 2020 Census counted 537,309, 89% of the peak. Census Bureau
1996
A thunderstorm in April 1996 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
Hail in April 2001 did $70 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A tornado in May 2019 did $500 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1968
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Montgomery County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Montgomery County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Montgomery County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Montgomery County ranks 3rd of the eight; Clark County is highest, at 30.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark County, OH | 78 | 14.1% | 30.1% |
| Montgomery County, OH | 71 | 14.4% | 23.9% |
| Butler County, OH | 49 | 13.0% | 20.1% |
| Preble County, OH | 33 | 10.4% | 27.6% |
| Miami County, OH | 29 | 10.0% | 20.9% |
| Darke County, OH | 27 | 11.6% | 22.8% |
| Greene County, OH | 21 | 9.9% | 19.1% |
| Warren County, OH | 7 | 6.6% | 12.8% |
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 Montgomery County the poorest county in Ohio?
No, Montgomery County's poverty rate was 14.4% in 2024, 22nd 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, Montgomery County ranks 18th of 88 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Montgomery 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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County Corp
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Horizon Housing Communities Development for Ohio (HHCDO)
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Miami Valley Community Action Partnership
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Montgomery 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 Montgomery County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.