Iowa County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 99 counties in Iowa, scored 0–100 across five domains. A county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than; the average Iowa county scores 15.5.
Data: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Urban Institute, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts | Scores as of Aug 2026
Iowa Snapshot
99 Counties Scored
15.5 Mean Score
12.1 Median Score
62 Wapello County Most Distressed
0 Lyon County Least Distressed
1 moderate-high county distress1 moderate county distress5 moderate-low county distress8 low-moderate county distress11 low county distress31 very low county distress42 exceptionally low county distress
Score Label Distribution Iowa County Map
Loading interactive map…
Low county distress Moderate-low county distress Moderate county distress High county distress Extreme county distress
All 99 Iowa counties colored by county distress score range. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
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 | Score Label | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | — | Wapello County | 62 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 2 | — | Des Moines County | 56 | moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 3 | — | Appanoose County | 47 | moderate-low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 4 | — | Pottawattamie County | 47 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 5 | — | Montgomery County | 46 | moderate-low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 6 | — | Jefferson County | 45 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 7 | — | Black Hawk County | 40 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 8 | — | Clinton County | 39 | low-moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 9 | — | Van Buren County | 39 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 10 | — | Woodbury County | 38 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 11 | — | Lee County | 37 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 12 | — | Union County | 35 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 13 | — | Muscatine County | 32 | low-moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 14 | — | Lucas County | 31 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 15 | — | Scott County | 30 | low-moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 16 | — | Decatur County | 25 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 17 | — | Keokuk County | 25 | low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 18 | — | Polk County | 24 | low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 19 | — | Webster County | 23 | low county distress | Delinquency |
| 20 | — | Greene County | 23 | low county distress | Delinquency |
| 21 | — | Marshall County | 23 | low county distress | Labor |
| 22 | — | Cass County | 22 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 23 | — | Crawford County | 22 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 24 | — | Emmet County | 21 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 25 | — | Page County | 21 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 26 | — | Pocahontas County | 20 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 27 | — | Tama County | 19 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 28 | — | Fayette County | 19 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 29 | — | Jasper County | 19 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 30 | — | Poweshiek County | 18 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 31 | — | Audubon County | 18 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 32 | — | Wayne County | 18 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 33 | — | Monroe County | 18 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 34 | — | Monona County | 17 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 35 | — | Henry County | 17 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 36 | — | Franklin County | 16 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 37 | — | Wright County | 16 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 38 | — | Linn County | 16 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 39 | — | Hardin County | 16 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 40 | — | Louisa County | 15 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 41 | — | Jackson County | 15 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 42 | — | Mills County | 15 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 43 | — | Floyd County | 13 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 44 | — | Clarke County | 13 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 45 | — | Adams County | 13 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 46 | — | Dubuque County | 12 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 47 | — | Allamakee County | 12 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 48 | — | Buena Vista County | 12 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 49 | — | Clay County | 12 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 50 | — | Guthrie County | 12 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 51 | — | Johnson County | 11 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 52 | — | Jones County | 11 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 53 | — | Humboldt County | 11 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 54 | — | Harrison County | 11 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 55 | — | Davis County | 10 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 56 | — | Cherokee County | 10 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 57 | — | Adair County | 10 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 58 | — | Taylor County | 9 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 59 | — | Story County | 9 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 60 | — | Calhoun County | 9 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 61 | — | Fremont County | 8 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 62 | — | Ringgold County | 8 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 63 | — | Winnebago County | 8 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 64 | — | Cerro Gordo County | 8 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 65 | — | Clayton County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 66 | — | Osceola County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 67 | — | Mahaska County | 6 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 68 | — | Hamilton County | 6 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 69 | — | Shelby County | 6 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 70 | — | O'Brien County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 71 | — | Madison County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 72 | — | Cedar County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 73 | — | Dickinson County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 74 | — | Hancock County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 75 | — | Marion County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 76 | — | Washington County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 77 | — | Buchanan County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 78 | — | Worth County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 79 | — | Iowa County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 80 | — | Sac County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 81 | — | Palo Alto County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 82 | — | Benton County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 83 | — | Boone County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 84 | — | Warren County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 85 | 3,047 | Butler County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 86 | 3,051 | Kossuth County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 87 | 3,054 | Delaware County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 88 | 3,056 | Ida County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 89 | 3,063 | Dallas County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 90 | 3,084 | Chickasaw County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 91 | 3,093 | Mitchell County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 92 | 3,106 | Plymouth County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 93 | 3,114 | Howard County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 94 | 3,116 | Grundy County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 95 | 3,120 | Bremer County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 96 | 3,134 | Carroll County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 97 | 3,140 | Sioux County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 98 | 3,141 | Winneshiek County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 99 | 3,143 | Lyon County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | 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, the domains are averaged, and that average is ranked against every U.S. county. So a county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than. National ranks are shown only for the 100 most and 100 least distressed counties, because ranks in between move between updates. Counties with identical composite scores share a rank, marked T- for tied.
extreme county distress — 0 Iowa counties
very high county distress — 0 Iowa counties
high county distress — 0 Iowa counties
moderate-high county distress — 1 Iowa county
moderate county distress — 1 Iowa county
moderate-low county distress — 5 Iowa counties
low-moderate county distress — 8 Iowa counties
low county distress — 11 Iowa counties
very low county distress — 31 Iowa counties
exceptionally low county distress — 42 Iowa counties