About one in 11 people in Pickaway County, Ohio, lives below the poverty line
In Pickaway County, 9.3% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 83% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 51% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pickaway County's score
In Pickaway County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 68.2. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 23.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pickaway 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, Pickaway County is worse off than most counties on bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (209.5, 2025) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (23.7%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 68.2 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 rent19.8% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.7% · fiscal year 202776th percentile
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- 67.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector25.4% · August 202558th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people209.5 · 202577th percentile
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- 52.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.4% · August 202565th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.1% · August 202549th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score38.2% · second quarter of 202642nd percentile
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- 33.6 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 working17.2% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
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- 23.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.3% · 202417th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.9% · 202417th percentile
- People with a disability14.3% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- People without health insurance5.8% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$81,135 · 202418th 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 Pickaway 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 Pickaway County, 16.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pickaway County
Ohio
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Pickaway County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 22.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Pickaway County, Ohio, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Pickaway County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 12.1% in 2010 to 14.5% in 2011.
The share of households in Pickaway County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 11.7% 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, Pickaway County, Ohio.
How Pickaway County has changed
Pickaway County's population rose by more than half to 62,158, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 48,335. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pickaway County, Ohio.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Pickaway County rose by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 16,482, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 16,754 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pickaway County, Ohio.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.2% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.6% | 2024 9.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,681 | 2024 $81,135 |
The table uses 4.6% 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 Pickaway County's history
1986
A tornado in March 1986 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
A tornado in October 1999 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
Picway Power Plant coal-fired closed 2015. Wikipedia
2017
GE Lighting plant opened 1948 closed 2017. Wikipedia
2019
A tornado in May 2019 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A tornado in May 2019 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 58,539, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pickaway County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pickaway County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Pickaway County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Pickaway County ranks 4th of the seven; Hocking County is highest, at 33.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ross County, OH | 81 | 13.4% | 31.3% |
| Fayette County, OH | 65 | 12.1% | 30.7% |
| Franklin County, OH | 60 | 13.9% | 16.5% |
| Hocking County, OH | 60 | 13.2% | 33.0% |
| Pickaway County, OH | 48 | 9.3% | 22.5% |
| Madison County, OH | 32 | 8.8% | 19.7% |
| Fairfield County, OH | 31 | 8.1% | 18.8% |
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 Pickaway County the poorest county in Ohio?
No, Pickaway County's poverty rate was 9.3% in 2024, 66th 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, Pickaway County ranks 44th of 88 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pickaway 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 Pickaway 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 Pickaway County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.