In Van Wert County, Ohio, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Van Wert County, 16.7% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 88% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 78% of U.S. counties.
What drives Van Wert County's score
In Van Wert County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 55.2. Jobs are the lowest part, at 19.2. About one in seven adults aged 25 to 54 (14.2%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a lower share than in 87% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Van Wert 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.
Van Wert 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.
- 55.2 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.8% · August 202555th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.8% · August 202570th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score37.5% · second quarter of 202639th percentile
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- 47.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.6% · August 202547th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people121.9 · 202547th percentile
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- 22.9 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 line12.0% · 202422nd percentile
- People with a disability14.3% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- People without health insurance4.0% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,213 · 202435th percentile
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- 21.9 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 rent15.2% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.7% · fiscal year 202711th percentile
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- 19.2 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 202625th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.2% · 2020 to 202412th 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 Van Wert 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 Van Wert County, 20.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Van Wert County
Ohio
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Van Wert County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 24.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Van Wert County, Ohio, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Van Wert County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 10.8% in 2019 to 8.7% in 2020.
The share of households in Van Wert County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen to 7.5%
Low on the chart: 6.0% 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, Van Wert County, Ohio.
How Van Wert County has changed
Van Wert County's population had its largest rise, from 29,693 in 1974 to 30,392 in 1979.
Van Wert County's population was about the same in 2024 as in 1969
High on the chart: 30,713 in 1989. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Van Wert County, Ohio.
The number of jobs located in Van Wert County fell most sharply on the way to its 2010 low, from 11,217 in 2005 to 9,807 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Van Wert County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 12,422 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Van Wert County, Ohio.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.6% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 6.8% | 2024 8.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,277 | 2024 $72,213 |
The table uses 4.3% 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 Van Wert County's history
1837
Created February 12, 1820 and organized March 18, 1837. Wikipedia
1990
The county's largest recorded population was the 1990 Census count of 30,464. The 2020 Census counted 28,931, 95% of the peak. Census Bureau
1992
A tornado in February 1992 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
A tornado in November 2002 did $30 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
A tornado in March 2006 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A thunderstorm in July 2023 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Van Wert County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Van Wert County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Van Wert County, in Ohio and Indiana, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Van Wert County ranks 3rd of the eight; Allen County is highest, at 26.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allen County, OH | 59 | 14.8% | 26.8% |
| Allen County, IN | 49 | 12.3% | 20.0% |
| Paulding County, OH | 27 | 10.4% | 25.2% |
| Adams County, IN | 23 | 11.1% | 20.8% |
| Van Wert County, OH | 21 | 8.9% | 24.5% |
| Auglaize County, OH | 5 | 7.0% | 21.2% |
| Putnam County, OH | 1 | 6.0% | 19.4% |
| 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 Van Wert County the poorest county in Ohio?
No, Van Wert 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, Van Wert County ranks 74th of 88 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Van Wert 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 Van Wert 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 Van Wert County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.