In Paulding County, Ohio, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Paulding County, 17.5% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 83% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 72% of U.S. counties.
What drives Paulding County's score
In Paulding County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 48.8. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 33.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Paulding 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.
Paulding 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.
- 48.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.6% · August 202544th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people133.6 · 202553rd percentile
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- 37.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.7% · August 202538th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.8% · August 202529th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score38.6% · second quarter of 202644th percentile
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- 33.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202627th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.1% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
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- 33.1 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 line12.6% · 202425th percentile
- People with a disability15.9% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- People without health insurance5.2% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$68,923 · 202443rd percentile
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- 33.0 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 rent18.0% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.5% · fiscal year 202717th 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 Paulding 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 Paulding 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
Paulding County
Ohio
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Paulding County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 25.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Paulding County, Ohio, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Paulding County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 9.9% in 2009 to 11.7% in 2010.
The share of households in Paulding 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: 9.5% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Paulding County, Ohio.
How Paulding County has changed
Paulding County's population had its largest rise, from 19,056 in 1969 to 20,427 in 1974.
Paulding County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1979 and is down 12% since
High on the chart: 21,258 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Paulding County, Ohio.
The number of jobs located in Paulding County fell most sharply after its 2005 high, from 5,230 in 2005 to 4,578 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Paulding County rose by about a fifth from 1990 to 2025, reaching 5,160
High on the chart: 5,230 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Paulding County, Ohio.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.9% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.4% | 2024 10.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,769 | 2024 $68,923 |
The table uses 4.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.3% 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 Paulding County's history
1835
Canal workers built population to 25,000 in 1835, peak never approached again. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 27,528. The 2020 Census counted 18,806, 68% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1974
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Paulding County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Paulding County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Paulding County, in Ohio and Indiana, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Paulding County ranks 2nd of the five; Defiance County is highest, at 27.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allen County, IN | 49 | 12.3% | 20.0% |
| Paulding County, OH | 27 | 10.4% | 25.2% |
| Defiance County, OH | 24 | 8.9% | 27.9% |
| Van Wert County, OH | 21 | 8.9% | 24.5% |
| Putnam County, OH | 1 | 6.0% | 19.4% |
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 Paulding County the poorest county in Ohio?
No, Paulding 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, Paulding County ranks 66th of 88 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Paulding 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 Paulding 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 Paulding County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.