In Tuscarawas County, Ohio, benefit checks make up only 22 cents of every dollar of income
In Tuscarawas County, 22.3% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 70% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 56% of U.S. counties.
What drives Tuscarawas County's score
In Tuscarawas County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 53.1. Jobs are the lowest part, at 40.1. Unemployment averaged 3.5%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, lower than in 66% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Tuscarawas 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.
Tuscarawas 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.
- 53.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.0% · August 202545th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people152.4 · 202560th percentile
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- 49.9 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 rent19.5% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.0% · fiscal year 202741st percentile
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- 45.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.0% · August 202541st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.4% · August 202553rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score37.9% · second quarter of 202641st percentile
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- 43.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.3% · 202433rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.0% · 202433rd percentile
- People with a disability15.5% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- People without health insurance8.5% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,524 · 202450th percentile
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- 40.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202633rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.2% · 2020 to 202446th 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 Tuscarawas 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 Tuscarawas County, 20.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Tuscarawas County
Ohio
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Tuscarawas County had its largest rise, from 18.8% in 2004 to 24.2% in 2009.
In Tuscarawas County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 22.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Tuscarawas County, Ohio, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Tuscarawas County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 9.4% in 2009 to 11.0% in 2010.
The share of households in Tuscarawas County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 14.1%
High on the chart: 14.4% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Tuscarawas County, Ohio.
How Tuscarawas County has changed
Tuscarawas County's population had its largest rise, from 76,987 in 1969 to 80,846 in 1974.
Tuscarawas County's population rose by about a fifth from 1969 to 2024, reaching 92,048
High on the chart: 93,301 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Tuscarawas County, Ohio.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Tuscarawas County rose by about a fifth to 37,311, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 35,066. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Tuscarawas County, Ohio.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.6% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.3% | 2024 11.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,457 | 2024 $66,524 |
The table uses 4.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Tuscarawas County's history
1808
Formed February 15, 1808 from Muskingum County. Wikipedia
1980
A tornado in June 1980 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A flash flood in June 1998 did $20 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 93,263, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1969
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Tuscarawas County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Tuscarawas County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Tuscarawas County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Tuscarawas County ranks 6th of the seven; Coshocton County is highest, at 32.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harrison County, OH | 66 | 13.8% | 31.2% |
| Guernsey County, OH | 65 | 13.8% | 32.1% |
| Coshocton County, OH | 63 | 11.6% | 32.3% |
| Stark County, OH | 46 | 12.4% | 24.6% |
| Tuscarawas County, OH | 43 | 11.3% | 22.3% |
| Carroll County, OH | 42 | 11.6% | 26.7% |
| Holmes County, OH | 7 | 9.0% | 11.7% |
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 Tuscarawas County the poorest county in Ohio?
No, Tuscarawas County's poverty rate was 11.3% in 2024, 52nd 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, Tuscarawas County ranks 51st of 88 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Tuscarawas 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 Tuscarawas 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 Tuscarawas County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.