About one in seven people with a credit file in Iron County, Utah, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Iron County, 14.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 84% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 71% of U.S. counties.
What drives Iron County's score
In Iron County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 44.1. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 23.7. About three in ten people (29.6%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a lower share than in 88% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Iron 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.
Iron 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.
- 44.2 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent19.9% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.6% · fiscal year 202727th percentile
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- 42.7 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 202623rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.6% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
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- 40.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.6% · 202445th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.8% · 202432nd percentile
- People with a disability13.2% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- People without health insurance10.3% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$73,868 · 202431st percentile
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- 38.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.1% · August 202515th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people155.7 · 202561st percentile
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- 23.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.2% · August 202528th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.9% · August 202531st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.6% · second quarter of 202611th 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 Iron 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 Iron County, 13.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Iron County
Utah
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Iron County had its largest rise, from 18.0% in 2004 to 23.2% in 2009.
In Iron County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 23.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Iron County, Utah, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Iron County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 12.3% in 2017 to 10.8% in 2018.
The share of households in Iron County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 8.9%
Low on the chart: 8.7% 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, Iron County, Utah.
How Iron County has changed
Iron County's population had its largest rise in the last span, from 56,017 in 2019 to 65,936 in 2024.
Iron County's population grew to about six times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 65,936, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 20,495. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Iron County, Utah.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Iron County more than tripled to 25,889, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 25,889. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Iron County, Utah.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.0% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.8% | 2024 12.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,682 | 2024 $73,868 |
The table uses 3.2% 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 Iron County's history
1850
January 31, 1850 (created) January 17, 1851 (organized). Wikipedia
1858
Iron mining ceased by 1858 due to disappointing yields. Wikipedia
2012
A flash flood in August 2012 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 57,289, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2021
A flash flood in July 2021 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
A flash flood in August 2021 did $9 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A flash flood in August 2023 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
6 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Iron County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Iron County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Iron County, in Utah and Nevada, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Iron County ranks 5th of the six; Beaver County is highest, at 32.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln County, NV | 50 | 13.2% | 28.3% |
| Washington County, UT | 38 | 9.3% | 21.5% |
| Iron County, UT | 28 | 12.6% | 23.4% |
| Garfield County, UT | 25 | 9.8% | 25.0% |
| Kane County, UT | 17 | 8.8% | 24.7% |
| Beaver County, UT | 5 | 9.5% | 32.2% |
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 Iron County the poorest county in Utah?
No, Iron County's poverty rate was 12.6% in 2024, 4th highest of 29 in Utah (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is San Juan County, at 19.5%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Iron County ranks 11th of 29 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Iron 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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Utah Legal Services
Legal aid
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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 Iron County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.