About one in nine people with a credit file in Iowa County, Wisconsin, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Iowa County, 10.8% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 98% of U.S. counties.
What drives Iowa County's score
In Iowa County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 22.4. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 6.2. About one in four people (25.6%, Q2 2026) has a subprime credit score, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Iowa 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.
Iowa 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.
- 22.4 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 rent15.6% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.5% · fiscal year 20279th percentile
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- 20.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector10.8% · August 20255th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people100.2 · 202536th percentile
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- 12.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.7% · 202413th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.4% · 202410th percentile
- People with a disability12.1% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
- People without health insurance3.4% · 2020 to 20244th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$79,607 · 202420th percentile
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- 9.6 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 202610th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working13.1% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
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- 6.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.4% · August 20256th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.5% · August 20258th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score25.6% · second quarter of 20264th 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 Iowa 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 Iowa County, 20.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Iowa County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Iowa County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 18.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than three times as much as benefit checks
In Iowa County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 18.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Iowa County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.9% in 2012 to 9.7% in 2013.
The share of households in Iowa County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 9.5%
Low on the chart: 5.4% 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, Iowa County, Wisconsin.
How Iowa County has changed
Iowa County's population rose by about a quarter to 23,963, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 22,709. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Iowa County, Wisconsin.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Iowa County rose by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 10,719, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
High on the chart: 11,150 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Iowa County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.0% | 2025 2.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.5% | 2024 8.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,568 | 2024 $79,607 |
The table uses 2.8% 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 Iowa County's history
1827
Lead mining operations with 40 miners beginning in 1827. Wikipedia
1830
Created in 1830, organized under the Michigan Territory government. Wikipedia
1984
A tornado in June 1984 killed nine people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
Hail in April 2006 did $4.44 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
Hail in April 2006 did $4.44 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
Hail in April 2006 did $4.44 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 23,709, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1976
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Iowa County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Iowa County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Iowa County, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Iowa County ranks 5th of the seven; Richland County is highest, at 27.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richland County, WI | 17 | 13.0% | 27.0% |
| Sauk County, WI | 14 | 8.6% | 18.2% |
| Grant County, WI | 9 | 11.9% | 24.0% |
| Dane County, WI | 7 | 9.9% | 11.8% |
| Lafayette County, WI | 6 | 12.5% | 20.2% |
| Iowa County, WI | 1 | 8.7% | 18.3% |
| Green County, WI | 1 | 8.4% | 18.4% |
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 Iowa County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Iowa County's poverty rate was 8.7% in 2024, 54th highest of 72 in Wisconsin (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Menominee County, at 24.4%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Iowa County ranks 68th of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Iowa 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 Action of Wisconsin
Legal aid
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Disability Rights Wisconsin
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 Iowa County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.