County Data

Iowa County Distress Index

Financial distress scores for all 99 counties in Iowa, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 32.7.

Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26

Iowa Snapshot

99 Counties Scored
32.7 Mean Score
31.9 Median Score
64.5 Wapello County Most Distressed
11.4 Lyon County Least Distressed
7 Elevated 30 Normal 62 Healthy
Zone Distribution

Iowa County Map

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Healthy Normal Elevated Serious Crisis

All 99 Iowa counties colored by distress zone. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.

Most & Least Distressed

Most Distressed

#1 Wapello County
64.5 Elevated
Housing Cost Burden
#2 Des Moines County
62.6 Elevated
Housing Cost Burden
#3 Woodbury County
51.5 Elevated
Housing Cost Burden

Least Distressed

#99 Lyon County
11.4 Healthy
Economic Vitality
#98 Winneshiek County
16.2 Healthy
Housing Cost Burden
#97 Grundy County
16.6 Healthy
Economic Vitality

Score Distribution

How Iowa's 99 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.

All Iowa Counties

99 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.

State Rank Nat'l Rank County Score Zone Primary Driver
1 672 Wapello County 64.5 Elevated Housing Cost Burden
2 793 Des Moines County 62.6 Elevated Housing Cost Burden
3 1,483 Woodbury County 51.5 Elevated Housing Cost Burden
4 1,487 Pottawattamie County 51.5 Elevated Economic Vitality
5 1,492 Black Hawk County 51.4 Elevated Housing Cost Burden
6 1,515 Appanoose County 51.1 Elevated Structural Poverty
7 1,524 Montgomery County 51.0 Elevated Legal Distress
8 1,587 Jefferson County 49.8 Normal Housing Cost Burden
9 1,602 Clinton County 49.5 Normal Housing Cost Burden
10 1,729 Lee County 47.7 Normal Structural Poverty
11 1,824 Cass County 46.3 Normal Housing Cost Burden
12 1,850 Lucas County 46.0 Normal Structural Poverty
13 1,945 Scott County 44.2 Normal Housing Cost Burden
14 1,976 Polk County 43.6 Normal Housing Cost Burden
15 2,000 Decatur County 43.3 Normal Structural Poverty
16 2,029 Jasper County 42.7 Normal Legal Distress
17 2,058 Greene County 42.1 Normal Legal Distress
18 2,069 Page County 42.0 Normal Housing Cost Burden
19 2,072 Clarke County 41.9 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
20 2,088 Webster County 41.6 Normal Structural Poverty
21 2,100 Muscatine County 41.4 Normal Legal Distress
22 2,109 Monona County 41.3 Normal Legal Distress
23 2,122 Henry County 41.1 Normal Housing Cost Burden
24 2,155 Monroe County 40.6 Normal Housing Cost Burden
25 2,205 Van Buren County 39.8 Normal Structural Poverty
26 2,275 Poweshiek County 38.7 Normal Housing Cost Burden
27 2,306 Linn County 38.1 Normal Housing Cost Burden
28 2,311 Keokuk County 38.0 Normal Legal Distress
29 2,315 Crawford County 38.0 Normal Structural Poverty
30 2,329 Union County 37.7 Normal Structural Poverty
31 2,333 Hardin County 37.6 Normal Housing Cost Burden
32 2,349 Fayette County 37.4 Normal Housing Cost Burden
33 2,360 Harrison County 37.1 Normal Economic Vitality
34 2,385 Audubon County 36.6 Normal Legal Distress
35 2,415 Johnson County 36.1 Normal Housing Cost Burden
36 2,460 Marshall County 35.3 Normal Structural Poverty
37 2,471 Tama County 35.1 Normal Structural Poverty
38 2,473 Wright County 35.0 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
39 2,481 Story County 34.9 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
40 2,522 Ringgold County 34.0 Healthy Structural Poverty
41 2,529 Emmet County 33.9 Healthy Structural Poverty
42 2,553 Dubuque County 33.6 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
43 2,557 Adair County 33.6 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
44 2,569 Adams County 33.3 Healthy Structural Poverty
45 2,573 Mills County 33.2 Healthy Economic Vitality
46 2,610 Wayne County 32.5 Healthy Structural Poverty
47 2,618 Cherokee County 32.5 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
48 2,643 Buena Vista County 32.2 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
49 2,648 Pocahontas County 32.1 Healthy Structural Poverty
50 2,655 Winnebago County 31.9 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
51 2,703 Shelby County 31.0 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
52 2,737 Louisa County 30.4 Healthy Legal Distress
53 2,752 Cerro Gordo County 30.1 Healthy Structural Poverty
54 2,754 Franklin County 30.0 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
55 2,771 Guthrie County 29.8 Healthy Economic Vitality
56 2,781 Taylor County 29.6 Healthy Structural Poverty
57 2,798 Clayton County 29.1 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
58 2,804 Cedar County 28.9 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
59 2,816 Warren County 28.7 Healthy Legal Distress
60 2,823 Madison County 28.5 Healthy Economic Vitality
61 2,835 Marion County 28.3 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
62 2,840 Clay County 28.2 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
63 2,844 Hamilton County 28.1 Healthy Legal Distress
64 2,860 Osceola County 27.8 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
65 2,861 Floyd County 27.7 Healthy Structural Poverty
66 2,867 Washington County 27.5 Healthy Legal Distress
67 2,871 O'Brien County 27.4 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
68 2,892 Kossuth County 26.9 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
69 2,894 Mahaska County 26.9 Healthy Legal Distress
70 2,907 Jackson County 26.7 Healthy Legal Distress
71 2,910 Allamakee County 26.7 Healthy Structural Poverty
72 2,913 Fremont County 26.5 Healthy Legal Distress
73 2,929 Jones County 26.1 Healthy Structural Poverty
74 2,981 Boone County 24.4 Healthy Legal Distress
75 2,984 Delaware County 24.4 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
76 2,988 Hancock County 24.2 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
77 2,990 Dallas County 24.2 Healthy Legal Distress
78 2,991 Iowa County 24.1 Healthy Legal Distress
79 2,993 Dickinson County 23.9 Healthy Legal Distress
80 2,996 Buchanan County 23.8 Healthy Legal Distress
81 3,000 Calhoun County 23.6 Healthy Structural Poverty
82 3,002 Palo Alto County 23.4 Healthy Economic Vitality
83 3,006 Carroll County 23.3 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
84 3,009 Humboldt County 23.2 Healthy Legal Distress
85 3,019 Benton County 22.8 Healthy Legal Distress
86 3,021 Worth County 22.7 Healthy Legal Distress
87 3,027 Davis County 22.3 Healthy Economic Vitality
88 3,068 Plymouth County 20.2 Healthy Legal Distress
89 3,090 Ida County 19.2 Healthy Legal Distress
90 3,093 Chickasaw County 18.7 Healthy Legal Distress
91 3,098 Howard County 18.3 Healthy Structural Poverty
92 3,099 Sac County 18.3 Healthy Structural Poverty
93 3,100 Butler County 18.1 Healthy Legal Distress
94 3,101 Sioux County 18.1 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
95 3,107 Bremer County 17.8 Healthy Legal Distress
96 3,111 Mitchell County 17.5 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
97 3,119 Grundy County 16.6 Healthy Economic Vitality
98 3,123 Winneshiek County 16.2 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
99 3,142 Lyon County 11.4 Healthy Economic Vitality

How County Scores Work

Each county is scored 0–100 using PCA-weighted percentile-rank scoring across five statistically derived dimensions: Consumer Credit Distress, Housing Cost Burden, Structural Poverty, Economic Vitality, and Legal Distress. A score of 50 means the county falls at the national median. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.

Crisis (≥80) — Among the most distressed counties in the country
Serious (65–80) — More distressed than roughly 80% of counties
Elevated (50–65) — More distressed than roughly half of counties
Normal (35–50) — Near the national median
Healthy (<35) — Less distressed than most counties

Full CDI methodology and data sources

Iowa Resources

Iowa State Profile

State ADI score: 40.8 (Healthy). Debt, delinquency, and economic indicators for Iowa.

Find Help in Iowa

HUD-approved housing counselors, legal aid offices, credit counselors, and debtor education providers in Iowa.

Iowa Foreclosure Laws

Foreclosure process, timeline, homeowner protections, and legal resources in Iowa.

State Distress Rankings

All 51 U.S. jurisdictions ranked by financial distress. Compare Iowa to the rest of the country.

National County Profiles

All 3,144 U.S. counties ranked by financial distress score.
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If you're struggling with debt or facing foreclosure, free help is available. Find help near you · Browse the Glossary · The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provides HUD-approved housing counselors at no cost. You can also call 1-800-569-4287.