Ohio County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 88 counties in Ohio, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 50.5. 12counties are in Serious or Crisis.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
Ohio Snapshot
88 Counties Scored
50.5 Mean Score
52.3 Median Score
72.3 Ashtabula County Most Distressed
19.5 Holmes County Least Distressed
12 Serious 37 Elevated 26 Normal 13 Healthy
Zone Distribution Ohio County Map
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Healthy Normal Elevated Serious Crisis
All 88 Ohio counties colored by distress zone. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How Ohio's 88 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Ohio Counties
88 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Zone | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 299 | Ashtabula County | 72.3 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 2 | 340 | Ross County | 71.3 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 3 | 434 | Clark County | 69.1 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 4 | 440 | Jackson County | 69.0 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 5 | 451 | Pike County | 68.7 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 6 | 466 | Scioto County | 68.5 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 7 | 476 | Marion County | 68.2 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 8 | 504 | Adams County | 67.9 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 9 | 560 | Lucas County | 66.8 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 10 | 577 | Montgomery County | 66.5 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 11 | 597 | Trumbull County | 66.0 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 12 | 604 | Mahoning County | 65.8 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 13 | 644 | Lawrence County | 64.9 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 14 | 728 | Jefferson County | 63.7 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 15 | 730 | Cuyahoga County | 63.7 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 16 | 787 | Muskingum County | 62.7 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 17 | 805 | Franklin County | 62.4 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 18 | 883 | Brown County | 61.0 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 19 | 890 | Fayette County | 61.0 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 20 | 895 | Hocking County | 60.9 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 21 | 903 | Guernsey County | 60.7 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 22 | 941 | Hamilton County | 60.1 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 23 | 964 | Athens County | 59.8 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 24 | 973 | Columbiana County | 59.7 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 25 | 1,028 | Perry County | 58.8 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 26 | 1,033 | Meigs County | 58.8 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 27 | 1,044 | Coshocton County | 58.4 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 28 | 1,056 | Richland County | 58.3 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 29 | 1,095 | Gallia County | 57.8 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 30 | 1,135 | Allen County | 57.3 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 31 | 1,151 | Summit County | 56.9 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 32 | 1,182 | Belmont County | 56.3 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 33 | 1,207 | Crawford County | 55.9 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 34 | 1,231 | Harrison County | 55.6 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 35 | 1,239 | Highland County | 55.5 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 36 | 1,253 | Huron County | 55.3 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 37 | 1,256 | Pickaway County | 55.2 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 38 | 1,277 | Hardin County | 54.9 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 39 | 1,279 | Lorain County | 54.9 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 40 | 1,329 | Portage County | 54.2 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 41 | 1,355 | Vinton County | 53.7 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 42 | 1,396 | Butler County | 53.1 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 43 | 1,417 | Stark County | 52.8 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 44 | 1,426 | Erie County | 52.5 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 45 | 1,454 | Clinton County | 52.0 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 46 | 1,468 | Morgan County | 51.8 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 47 | 1,475 | Seneca County | 51.6 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 48 | 1,519 | Tuscarawas County | 51.1 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 49 | 1,567 | Fairfield County | 50.1 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 50 | 1,593 | Miami County | 49.7 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 51 | 1,604 | Williams County | 49.5 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 52 | 1,662 | Morrow County | 48.7 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 53 | 1,719 | Washington County | 47.9 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 54 | 1,730 | Licking County | 47.7 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 55 | 1,736 | Champaign County | 47.6 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 56 | 1,737 | Lake County | 47.6 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 57 | 1,766 | Clermont County | 47.2 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 58 | 1,786 | Madison County | 46.9 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 59 | 1,801 | Sandusky County | 46.7 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 60 | 1,886 | Logan County | 45.2 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 61 | 1,897 | Ashland County | 45.0 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 62 | 1,899 | Preble County | 44.9 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 63 | 1,918 | Hancock County | 44.7 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 64 | 1,948 | Van Wert County | 44.1 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 65 | 1,978 | Paulding County | 43.6 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 66 | 2,045 | Carroll County | 42.5 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 67 | 2,048 | Knox County | 42.4 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 68 | 2,054 | Shelby County | 42.2 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 69 | 2,110 | Monroe County | 41.3 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 70 | 2,128 | Wood County | 41.0 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 71 | 2,198 | Noble County | 39.9 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 72 | 2,214 | Defiance County | 39.6 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 73 | 2,239 | Greene County | 39.2 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 74 | 2,290 | Darke County | 38.3 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 75 | 2,435 | Ottawa County | 35.8 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 76 | 2,480 | Wayne County | 34.9 | Healthy | Legal Distress |
| 77 | 2,494 | Wyandot County | 34.7 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 78 | 2,527 | Fulton County | 34.0 | Healthy | Legal Distress |
| 79 | 2,583 | Auglaize County | 33.0 | Healthy | Legal Distress |
| 80 | 2,621 | Henry County | 32.5 | Healthy | Legal Distress |
| 81 | 2,719 | Medina County | 30.7 | Healthy | Legal Distress |
| 82 | 2,863 | Warren County | 27.7 | Healthy | Legal Distress |
| 83 | 2,945 | Putnam County | 25.6 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 84 | 2,947 | Union County | 25.5 | Healthy | Legal Distress |
| 85 | 2,992 | Mercer County | 24.0 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 86 | 3,026 | Geauga County | 22.4 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 87 | 3,052 | Delaware County | 21.0 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 88 | 3,083 | Holmes County | 19.5 | 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