#2,987 Ohio · 2026

Warren County, Ohio

19.6 · very low county distress 2,987th of 3,144 counties nationally · 252,148 residents How this is calculated →
The headline number
126 Warren residents
vs.
126 U.S. median

Near the national median for bankruptcy filing rate — and 17.3× the rate of the healthiest U.S. county (Glacier County, MT — 7).

Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, F-5A (2025)

Main Findings

Wire lede · 33 words · paste-ready

Warren County, Ohio ranks 2,987th most distressed in the United States on the County Distress Index. Warren sits near the national median across major distress indicators. Its highest-scoring domain is Default & Legal.

Key Findings
  • 2,987th of 3,144 counties on the County Distress Index — 19.6 · very low county distress, 82nd in Ohio.
  • A bankruptcy filing rate of 126 (U.S. median 126). Bankruptcy filing rate at the 50th percentile nationally. Source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, F-5A (2025).
  • Severe rent burden (50%+) at 18% — national median 18%, ranked at the 54th percentile. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023).
  • Delinquency domain score 21 — weight 20.0% of the CDI composite. Source: American Default Research.
  • Labor domain score 11 — weight 20.0% of the CDI composite. Source: American Default Research.
County Distress Index cluster map. Warren County, Ohio and its neighbors colored by county distress score label.
Warren and its 6 geographic neighbors, graded by County Distress Index score. Warren County ranks 2,987th of 3,144. American Default Research
Wire summary — paste-ready, any angle 24 words

Warren County has a very low county distress score. The rank and domain mix show where the county still sits in the national cross-section.

— American Default Research
Index note — for feature use 33 words

The CDI gives this county a very low county distress label. The rank is still reported because low score intensity and relative position are different measures. Its highest-scoring domain is Default & Legal.

— American Default Research

Indicator History

Period-correct raw indicators from the county-history panel. The CDI composite is excluded because it is a current cross-sectional score.

Updated Jul 1, 2026
BLS 1990 to 2025

Unemployment rate

4.1% -0.5 pp since 1990
Census 1989 to 2024

Poverty rate

6.6% -0.3 pp since 1989
BEA 1969 to 2024

Transfer income share

12.8% +7.5 pp since 1969
FRED/Equifax 2014 Q2 to 2025 Q4

Subprime credit population

16.0% -7.2 pp since 2014 Q2

The Indicators Behind Warren County's CDI Score

Every number traces to a public source. Warren County's value shown alongside OH's median and the U.S. median. Full CSV available for download.

How to read the table. A domain score is a 0–100 composite of the indicators in that domain; higher values represent a higher mean of distress-oriented indicator percentiles. A county's domain rank is computed separately against all counties. Percentile is Warren County's national rank among all 3,144 U.S. counties for that indicator, always oriented so higher = more distressed.
Indicator Warren OH median U.S. median Pctile Source
Delinquency — domain score 21 · Rank 2,557 of 3,144
Auto loan delinquency Share of auto loan accounts 60+ days past due 4% 5% 5% 34th Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)
Credit card delinquency Share of credit card accounts 60+ days past due 3% 5% 5% 13th Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)
Subprime credit share Share of residents with a credit score below 660 16% 24% 23% 17th Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Equifax (2025)
Default & Legal — domain score 35 · Rank 2,219 of 3,144
Debt in collections Share of residents with a credit file who have debt in collections 15% 24% 23% 19th Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)
Bankruptcy filing rate Personal bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents 126 187 126 50th Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, F-5A (2025)
Debt Burden (housing basis) — domain score 28 · Rank 2,485 of 3,144
Rent-to-income ratio Fair Market Rent (2BR) as share of median household income 15% 20% 21% 3rd HUD FMR (FY2026); U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023)
Severe rent burden (50%+) Share of renter households paying 50%+ of income on rent 18% 18% 18% 54th U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023)
Labor — domain score 11 · Rank 2,778 of 3,144
Unemployment Share of labor force unemployed 3% 3% 4% 11th U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS (May 2026)
Safety Net & Buffer — domain score 4 · Rank 3,117 of 3,144
Child poverty rate Share of children under 18 below the federal poverty line 6% 17% 18% 2nd U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023)
Disability rate Share of residents reporting a disability 10% 15% 16% 7th U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023)
Poverty rate Share of population below the federal poverty line 6% 13% 14% 2nd U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023)
Uninsured rate Share of residents without health insurance coverage 4% 6% 8% 5th U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023)
Data compiled May 2026 from Urban Institute Debt in America (2025 panel), U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-yr 2023, SAIPE 2023, Business Formation Statistics 2024), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (LAUS May 2026, QCEW 2024), Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (F-5A bankruptcy filings 2025), and HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2026).

Five-Domain Breakdown

The CDI is an equal-weight composite of five family-v1 distress domains. Each domain contributes 20% of the county score.

Default & Legal Primary driver 35
Weight 20% · Rank 2,219 of 3,144
Debt Burden (housing basis) 28
Weight 20% · Rank 2,485 of 3,144
Delinquency 21
Weight 20% · Rank 2,557 of 3,144
Labor 11
Weight 20% · Rank 2,778 of 3,144
Safety Net & Buffer 4
Weight 20% · Rank 3,117 of 3,144

Methodology

The County Distress Index is a 0–100 composite score of household financial distress, computed for all 3,144 U.S. counties. Higher scores indicate greater distress. The index is built from five equal-weighted domains: Delinquency, Default & Legal, Debt Burden, Labor, and Safety Net & Buffer. Each domain is the mean of distress-oriented indicator percentiles; the CDI score is the equal-weight mean of those domain scores.

Data sources include the Urban Institute Debt in America (Equifax consumer credit panel), FRED/Equifax (subprime credit share), U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates), Bureau of Labor Statistics (Local Area Unemployment Statistics), U.S. Courts Administrative Office (F-5A bankruptcy filings), and HUD Fair Market Rents. Data vintages range from 2022 to 2026 depending on source; full indicator-level vintage detail is in the methodology document.

For Press & Research

Everything you need to cite Warren County data — in under 60 seconds.

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Press contact: Ross Kilburn · press@americandefault.org · (307) 264-2992 · same-day response, 9am–6pm ET
Draft wire copy 125-word AP-style article — use freely with attribution
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LEBANON, Ohio — Warren County ranks 2,987th among the nation's most financially distressed counties, according to the County Distress Index released this month by American Default Research.

The composite score of 19.6 out of 100 gives Warren a very low county distress label. Among 3,144 U.S. counties scored, 2,986 counties rank more distressed. Within Ohio, Warren ranks 82nd of 88 counties.

The index, which draws on 13 source indicators from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Urban Institute and federal court filings, finds Warren sitting near the national median across major distress indicators, with no single domain emerging as a clear driver.

American Default Research founder Ross Kilburn is available for interview at press@americandefault.org.

Full methodology and county-by-county data are available at americandefault.org/methodology/cdi.

— 30 —

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Warren County's CDI score, and what does it mean?

Warren County scores 19.6 out of 100 on the County Distress Index, with the score label very low county distress. It ranks 2,987th of 3,144 U.S. counties and 82nd of 88 Ohio counties. Higher county scores indicate more distress.

What drives Warren County's distress score?

The highest-scoring domain is Default & Legal, at a domain score of 35. Bankruptcy filing rate ranks at the 50th percentile nationally.

How does Warren County compare to its neighbors?

Warren County's neighbors span 4 CDI score labels. Highest-distress neighbor: Montgomery County (59.48, moderate county distress). Lowest: Greene County (29.85, low county distress).

How is the County Distress Index calculated?

The CDI is a 0–100 composite of 13 source indicators across five equal-weighted domains: Delinquency, Default & Legal, Debt Burden, Labor, and Safety Net & Buffer. Data comes from Urban Institute, Census Bureau, BLS, U.S. Courts, HUD, and related public sources. Full methodology →
Ross Kilburn
Written by

Ross Kilburn, Founder

Founder · American Default Research · Seattle, Washington

Two decades working directly with financially distressed American households — from property preservation in 2003, to negotiating over 1,000 short sales during the Great Recession, to foreclosure defense marketing today. Author, The Ark Law Group Complete Guide to Short Sales (Auroch Press, 2013). Founded American Default Research in 2026.

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