About one in 19 people in Union County, Ohio, lives below the poverty line
In Union County, 5.3% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 97% of U.S. counties.
What drives Union County's score
In Union County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 38.4. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 3.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Union 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.
Union 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.
- 38.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.5% · August 202517th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people149.3 · 202559th percentile
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- 17.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.9% · August 202523rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.5% · August 202525th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score25.1% · second quarter of 20263rd percentile
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- 12.8 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 rent11.7% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.2% · fiscal year 20278th percentile
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- 9.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202612th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.3% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
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- 3.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line5.3% · 20240th percentile
- Children below the poverty line4.3% · 20240th percentile
- People with a disability10.5% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- People without health insurance3.8% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$119,133 · 20241st 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 Union 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 Union County, 13.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Union County
Ohio
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Union County had its largest rise, from 11.8% in 2004 to 14.3% in 2009.
In Union County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 11.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about six times as much as benefit checks
In Union County, Ohio, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 11.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Union County getting SNAP food aid fell most in two steps: 8.4% in 2016 to 7.0% in 2017; 6.4% in 2018 to 5.0% in 2019.
The share of households in Union County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 4.9%
Low on the chart: 2.9% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Union County, Ohio.
How Union County has changed
Union County's population had its largest rise in the last span, from 61,867 in 2019 to 71,721 in 2024.
Union County's population tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 71,721, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 29,918. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Union County, Ohio.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Union County doubled to 36,813, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 31,051. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Union County, Ohio.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.1% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 7.6% | 2024 5.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $33,099 | 2024 $119,133 |
The table uses 3.6% for 2025; the score uses 2.9% 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 Union County's history
1997
A flash flood in June 1997 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 62,784, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1978
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Union County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Union County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Union County, six score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Union County ranks 7th of the eight; Marion County is highest, at 31.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marion County, OH | 73 | 16.0% | 31.6% |
| Franklin County, OH | 60 | 13.9% | 16.5% |
| Hardin County, OH | 50 | 14.3% | 28.9% |
| Logan County, OH | 32 | 9.7% | 26.3% |
| Madison County, OH | 32 | 8.8% | 19.7% |
| Champaign County, OH | 27 | 8.2% | 25.1% |
| Union County, OH | 2 | 5.3% | 11.7% |
| 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 Union County the poorest county in Ohio?
No, Union County's poverty rate was 5.3% in 2024, 87th 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, Union County ranks 84th of 88 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Union 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.
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 Union County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.