Illinois County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 102 counties in Illinois, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 45.9. 20counties are in the two most distressed fifths.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
Illinois Snapshot
102 Counties Scored
45.9 Mean Score
45.0 Median Score
75.0 Alexander County Most Distressed
11.1 Monroe County Least Distressed
9 Most distressed fifth11 Second-most distressed fifth31 Middle fifth35 Second-least distressed fifth16 Least distressed fifth
Quintile Distribution Illinois County Map
Loading interactive map…
Least distressed fifth Second-least distressed fifth Middle fifth Second-most distressed fifth Most distressed fifth
All 102 Illinois counties colored by distress fifth. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How Illinois's 102 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Illinois Counties
102 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Distress Fifth | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 271 | Alexander County | 75.0 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 2 | 399 | Pulaski County | 71.5 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 3 | 446 | Vermilion County | 70.5 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 4 | 493 | Franklin County | 69.6 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 5 | 503 | Winnebago County | 69.3 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 6 | 557 | Cook County | 68.3 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 7 | 561 | Jackson County | 68.2 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 8 | 623 | Kankakee County | 67.3 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 9 | 626 | Saline County | 67.2 | Most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 10 | 683 | St. Clair County | 65.9 | Second-most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 11 | 727 | Macon County | 65.0 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 12 | 728 | Peoria County | 65.0 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 13 | 789 | Jefferson County | 64.0 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 14 | 850 | Knox County | 63.0 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 15 | 884 | McDonough County | 62.3 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 16 | 907 | Marion County | 62.0 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 17 | 1,051 | Rock Island County | 59.5 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 18 | 1,055 | Stark County | 59.4 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 19 | 1,142 | DeKalb County | 58.0 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 20 | 1,237 | Williamson County | 56.4 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 21 | 1,317 | Lawrence County | 54.9 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 22 | 1,335 | Logan County | 54.7 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 23 | 1,343 | Wabash County | 54.5 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 24 | 1,378 | Mason County | 54.0 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 25 | 1,394 | Hardin County | 53.6 | Middle fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 26 | 1,437 | White County | 53.0 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 27 | 1,451 | Pike County | 52.7 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 28 | 1,465 | Coles County | 52.2 | Middle fifth | Default & Legal |
| 29 | 1,507 | Boone County | 51.5 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 30 | 1,530 | Will County | 51.4 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 31 | 1,565 | Christian County | 50.6 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 32 | 1,585 | Gallatin County | 50.2 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 33 | 1,591 | Sangamon County | 50.1 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 34 | 1,603 | Massac County | 49.9 | Middle fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 35 | 1,611 | Grundy County | 49.7 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 36 | 1,613 | Wayne County | 49.7 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 37 | 1,643 | Edgar County | 49.2 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 38 | 1,650 | LaSalle County | 49.1 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 39 | 1,663 | Fayette County | 48.9 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 40 | 1,674 | Kane County | 48.6 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 41 | 1,692 | Madison County | 48.3 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 42 | 1,716 | Macoupin County | 48.0 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 43 | 1,719 | Pope County | 47.9 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 44 | 1,738 | Stephenson County | 47.6 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 45 | 1,743 | Whiteside County | 47.5 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 46 | 1,753 | Champaign County | 47.4 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 47 | 1,759 | Johnson County | 47.3 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 48 | 1,763 | Perry County | 47.2 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 49 | 1,773 | Union County | 46.9 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 50 | 1,797 | Fulton County | 46.6 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 51 | 1,864 | Montgomery County | 45.4 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 52 | 1,919 | Lee County | 44.5 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 53 | 1,935 | Edwards County | 44.2 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 54 | 1,938 | Kendall County | 44.2 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 55 | 1,941 | Richland County | 44.1 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 56 | 1,967 | Iroquois County | 43.6 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 57 | 1,981 | Hamilton County | 43.4 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 58 | 1,988 | Clark County | 43.3 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 59 | 1,994 | Adams County | 43.2 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 60 | 2,020 | Scott County | 42.8 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 61 | 2,032 | Morgan County | 42.6 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 62 | 2,054 | McHenry County | 42.2 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 63 | 2,069 | Cass County | 41.9 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 64 | 2,079 | Lake County | 41.8 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 65 | 2,080 | Clay County | 41.7 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 66 | 2,094 | Bond County | 41.5 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 67 | 2,098 | Bureau County | 41.4 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 68 | 2,103 | Tazewell County | 41.3 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 69 | 2,108 | Randolph County | 41.1 | Second-least distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 70 | 2,148 | Henderson County | 40.3 | Second-least distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 71 | 2,158 | Warren County | 40.2 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 72 | 2,193 | Jersey County | 39.6 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 73 | 2,194 | Putnam County | 39.6 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 74 | 2,202 | Greene County | 39.4 | Second-least distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 75 | 2,225 | Ogle County | 39.0 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 76 | 2,257 | McLean County | 38.3 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 77 | 2,265 | Marshall County | 38.1 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 78 | 2,274 | Henry County | 38.0 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 79 | 2,280 | Schuyler County | 37.8 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 80 | 2,325 | Mercer County | 37.0 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 81 | 2,350 | DuPage County | 36.5 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 82 | 2,354 | Livingston County | 36.5 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 83 | 2,355 | Carroll County | 36.4 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 84 | 2,359 | Ford County | 36.3 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 85 | 2,395 | Crawford County | 35.4 | Second-least distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 86 | 2,466 | De Witt County | 33.9 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 87 | 2,519 | Menard County | 32.5 | Least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 88 | 2,568 | Hancock County | 31.6 | Least distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 89 | 2,619 | Shelby County | 30.5 | Least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 90 | 2,664 | Calhoun County | 29.6 | Least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 91 | 2,669 | Douglas County | 29.4 | Least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 92 | 2,673 | Brown County | 29.2 | Least distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 93 | 2,739 | Jo Daviess County | 27.4 | Least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 94 | 2,762 | Moultrie County | 26.8 | Least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 95 | 2,765 | Cumberland County | 26.7 | Least distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 96 | 2,835 | Effingham County | 24.7 | Least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 97 | 2,843 | Jasper County | 24.5 | Least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 98 | 2,865 | Washington County | 23.9 | Least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 99 | 2,884 | Piatt County | 23.3 | Least distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 100 | 2,921 | Clinton County | 22.4 | Least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 101 | 2,935 | Woodford County | 21.8 | Least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 102 | 3,125 | Monroe County | 11.1 | Least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using five equal-weighted domains. Each domain averages its member indicators' county ranks, and the composite is the mean of those domain scores. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.
Most distressed fifth — 9 Illinois counties
Second-most distressed fifth — 11 Illinois counties
Middle fifth — 31 Illinois counties
Second-least distressed fifth — 35 Illinois counties
Least distressed fifth — 16 Illinois counties