About one in 11 people in Shelby County, Ohio, lives below the poverty line
In Shelby County, 8.9% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 86% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Shelby County's score
In Shelby County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 46.6. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 18.1. Rent on a two-bedroom takes 17.1% of the typical household's income (fiscal year 2027), lower than in 85% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Shelby 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.
Shelby 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.
- 46.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector24.1% · August 202553rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people106.8 · 202539th percentile
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- 45.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.9% · August 202539th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.8% · August 202559th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score36.8% · second quarter of 202636th percentile
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- 21.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.9% · 202414th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.7% · 202416th percentile
- People with a disability14.7% · 2020 to 202437th percentile
- People without health insurance4.2% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$75,593 · 202428th percentile
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- 20.3 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 202624th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.1% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
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- 18.1 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 rent12.9% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.1% · fiscal year 202714th 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 Shelby 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 Shelby County, 18.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Shelby County
Ohio
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Shelby County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 21.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Shelby County, Ohio, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 21.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Shelby County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 8.9% in 2012 to 10.1% in 2013.
The share of households in Shelby County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 8.8%
Low on the chart: 7.2% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Shelby County, Ohio.
How Shelby County has changed
Shelby County's population had its largest rise, from 37,255 in 1969 to 41,024 in 1974.
Shelby County's population rose 29% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 49,540 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Shelby County, Ohio.
The number of jobs located in Shelby County had its largest drop, from 30,439 in 2005 to 24,843 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Shelby County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 13% since
High on the chart: 30,439 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Shelby County, Ohio.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.3% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 7.8% | 2024 8.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $30,542 | 2024 $75,593 |
The table uses 4.2% 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 Shelby County's history
1965
A tornado in April 1965 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 49,423. The 2020 Census counted 48,230, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau
2022
Lightning in July 2022 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Shelby County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Shelby County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Shelby County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Shelby County ranks 4th of the seven; Logan County is highest, at 26.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logan County, OH | 32 | 9.7% | 26.3% |
| Miami County, OH | 29 | 10.0% | 20.9% |
| Champaign County, OH | 27 | 8.2% | 25.1% |
| Darke County, OH | 27 | 11.6% | 22.8% |
| Shelby County, OH | 17 | 8.9% | 21.4% |
| Auglaize County, OH | 5 | 7.0% | 21.2% |
| Mercer County, OH | 1 | 8.0% | 16.6% |
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 Shelby County the poorest county in Ohio?
No, Shelby County's poverty rate was 8.9% in 2024, 71st 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, Shelby County ranks 78th of 88 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Shelby 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 Shelby 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 Shelby County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.