About one in 10 people in Morrow County, Ohio, lives below the poverty line
In Morrow County, 10.4% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 74% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 55% of U.S. counties.
What drives Morrow County's score
In Morrow County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 56.2. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 37.2. The typical household earns $84,191 a year (2024), more than in 84% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Morrow 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.
Morrow 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.
- 56.2 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent16.8% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.8% · fiscal year 202770th percentile
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- 53.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.4% · August 202550th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people140.5 · 202556th percentile
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- 45.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202638th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.0% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
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- 41.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.1% · August 202544th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.6% · August 202541st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score37.0% · second quarter of 202637th percentile
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- 37.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.4% · 202425th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.7% · 202431st percentile
- People with a disability15.5% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- People without health insurance10.3% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$84,191 · 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 Morrow 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 Morrow County, 19.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Morrow County
Ohio
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Morrow County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 23.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Morrow County, Ohio, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled 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 Morrow County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (8.5% in 2009) to 11.3% in 2010.
The share of households in Morrow County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 8.5% 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, Morrow County, Ohio.
How Morrow County has changed
Morrow County's population nearly doubled to 35,927, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 25,245. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Morrow County, Ohio.
The number of jobs located in Morrow County fell most sharply on the way to its 2010 low, from 5,981 in 2005 to 4,738 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Morrow County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 13% since
High on the chart: 6,121 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Morrow County, Ohio.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.6% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.7% | 2024 10.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,096 | 2024 $84,191 |
The table uses 4.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Morrow County's history
1965
A tornado in April 1965 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1981
A tornado in June 1981 did $25 million in property damage and killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1989
A tornado in November 1989 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1990
A tornado in June 1990 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 34,950, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Morrow County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Morrow County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Morrow County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Morrow County ranks 5th of the six; Crawford County is highest, at 32.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marion County, OH | 73 | 16.0% | 31.6% |
| Richland County, OH | 59 | 13.5% | 29.8% |
| Crawford County, OH | 55 | 11.2% | 32.4% |
| Morrow County, OH | 44 | 10.4% | 23.9% |
| Knox County, OH | 28 | 10.7% | 25.2% |
| 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 Morrow County the poorest county in Ohio?
No, Morrow County's poverty rate was 10.4% in 2024, 58th 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, Morrow County ranks 50th of 88 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Morrow 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 Morrow 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 Morrow County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.