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Cliff-Zone Families
178,220
Total Wage Suppression
$129.7M
State Avg Cliff Zone
17.0%
The benefits cliff — sometimes called the welfare cliff or cliff effect — occurs when families lose public benefits faster than they can replace them through increased earnings. In Indiana, an estimated 178,220 families across 92 counties earn between 100–200% of the Federal Poverty Level, where benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, childcare subsidies, and housing assistance phase out. The CLIFF Index measures this exposure at the county level, including peak marginal effective tax rates, wage suppression estimates, and advancement thresholds. Click any county below for the full diagnostic report.
| CountyCounty↕ | PopulationPopulation↕ | Cliff Zone %Cliff Zone %↕ | Families AffectedFamilies↓ | Wage SuppressionWage Gap↕ | Peak METRPeak METR↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marion County | 975,809 | 19.5% | 29,294 | $21.3M | 446% |
| Lake County | 500,379 | 15.9% | 12,270 | $8.9M | 410% |
| Allen County | 392,378 | 18.3% | 10,921 | $8.0M | 368% |
| Elkhart County | 207,132 | 19.7% | 6,465 | $4.7M | 380% |
| St. Joseph County | 273,040 | 17.4% | 6,363 | $4.6M | 405% |
| Hamilton County | 365,056 | 7.8% | 5,353 | $3.9M | 446% |
| Tippecanoe County | 189,071 | 19.8% | 5,295 | $3.9M | 393% |
| Vanderburgh County | 180,117 | 18.6% | 5,144 | $3.7M | 368% |
| Madison County | 131,900 | 19.4% | 3,602 | $2.6M | 385% |
| Porter County | 174,818 | 12.6% | 3,527 | $2.6M | 410% |
| Johnson County | 166,315 | 12.6% | 3,379 | $2.5M | 446% |
| Clark County | 124,354 | 16.2% | 3,354 | $2.4M | 400% |
| Vigo County | 106,109 | 23.0% | 3,190 | $2.3M | 368% |
| Delaware County | 112,280 | 19.8% | 3,137 | $2.3M | 368% |
| Hendricks County | 183,344 | 9.7% | 3,127 | $2.3M | 446% |
| LaPorte County | 111,917 | 17.3% | 2,771 | $2.0M | 372% |
| Howard County | 83,752 | 19.8% | 2,309 | $1.7M | 368% |
| Monroe County | 140,965 | 15.1% | 2,254 | $1.6M | 386% |
| Bartholomew County | 83,536 | 16.6% | 2,196 | $1.6M | 433% |
| Kosciusko County | 80,442 | 16.8% | 2,186 | $1.6M | 370% |
| Morgan County | 72,659 | 16.2% | 2,001 | $1.5M | 446% |
| Wayne County | 66,397 | 20.9% | 1,929 | $1.4M | 368% |
| Grant County | 66,295 | 19.4% | 1,793 | $1.3M | 368% |
| Noble County | 47,495 | 20.9% | 1,551 | $1.1M | 368% |
| Cass County | 37,680 | 26.3% | 1,516 | $1.1M | 368% |
| LaGrange County | 40,805 | 19.4% | 1,404 | $1.0M | 368% |
| Marshall County | 46,284 | 18.0% | 1,377 | $1.0M | 368% |
| Hancock County | 84,037 | 9.7% | 1,363 | $992K | 446% |
| Boone County | 74,718 | 10.1% | 1,344 | $978K | 446% |
| Adams County | 36,227 | 26.7% | 1,313 | $956K | 368% |
| Floyd County | 80,918 | 11.6% | 1,291 | $940K | 400% |
| Dubois County | 43,614 | 16.3% | 1,273 | $927K | 368% |
| Lawrence County | 45,102 | 19.7% | 1,255 | $914K | 368% |
| Huntington County | 36,798 | 20.1% | 1,239 | $902K | 368% |
| Daviess County | 33,658 | 22.7% | 1,236 | $900K | 368% |
| Henry County | 48,970 | 18.2% | 1,182 | $860K | 368% |
| Warrick County | 65,261 | 11.1% | 1,177 | $857K | 368% |
| DeKalb County | 43,807 | 15.6% | 1,170 | $852K | 368% |
| Miami County | 35,712 | 20.6% | 1,153 | $839K | 368% |
| Jackson County | 46,660 | 16.8% | 1,127 | $820K | 368% |
| Jefferson County | 32,998 | 21.3% | 1,107 | $806K | 368% |
| Dearborn County | 51,094 | 13.4% | 1,089 | $793K | 419% |
| Greene County | 31,021 | 21.7% | 1,057 | $769K | 368% |
| Washington County | 28,212 | 22.2% | 1,038 | $756K | 368% |
| Shelby County | 45,265 | 15.1% | 1,033 | $752K | 446% |
| Harrison County | 39,859 | 17.3% | 1,011 | $736K | 400% |
| Wabash County | 30,844 | 20.4% | 1,004 | $731K | 368% |
| Clinton County | 32,944 | 21.9% | 1,000 | $728K | 368% |
| Knox County | 36,007 | 17.5% | 963 | $701K | 368% |
| Montgomery County | 38,312 | 17.0% | 941 | $685K | 368% |
| Wells County | 28,420 | 21.1% | 939 | $684K | 368% |
| Putnam County | 37,280 | 18.2% | 933 | $679K | 368% |
| Jennings County | 27,562 | 22.6% | 927 | $675K | 368% |
| White County | 24,717 | 22.5% | 921 | $670K | 368% |
| Ripley County | 29,095 | 18.6% | 915 | $666K | 368% |
| Gibson County | 33,000 | 17.1% | 906 | $660K | 368% |
| Starke County | 23,365 | 22.8% | 831 | $605K | 368% |
| Clay County | 26,409 | 19.1% | 814 | $593K | 368% |
| Randolph County | 24,387 | 21.0% | 797 | $580K | 368% |
| Jasper County | 33,234 | 17.1% | 770 | $561K | 377% |
| Fulton County | 20,312 | 22.6% | 756 | $550K | 368% |
| Jay County | 20,229 | 25.0% | 731 | $532K | 368% |
| Scott County | 24,526 | 19.9% | 725 | $528K | 368% |
| Sullivan County | 20,780 | 24.0% | 715 | $521K | 368% |
| Fayette County | 23,334 | 19.7% | 696 | $507K | 368% |
| Steuben County | 34,726 | 14.5% | 654 | $476K | 368% |
| Fountain County | 16,617 | 21.6% | 653 | $475K | 368% |
| Whitley County | 34,618 | 11.1% | 644 | $469K | 368% |
| Franklin County | 23,020 | 16.9% | 634 | $462K | 368% |
| Carroll County | 20,535 | 18.7% | 614 | $447K | 368% |
| Orange County | 19,767 | 20.3% | 609 | $443K | 368% |
| Decatur County | 26,422 | 13.7% | 599 | $436K | 368% |
| Owen County | 21,604 | 17.6% | 589 | $429K | 368% |
| Posey County | 25,116 | 13.2% | 543 | $395K | 368% |
| Spencer County | 19,955 | 15.8% | 517 | $376K | 368% |
| Rush County | 16,739 | 20.3% | 504 | $367K | 368% |
| Perry County | 19,270 | 17.5% | 499 | $363K | 368% |
| Vermillion County | 15,421 | 21.3% | 486 | $354K | 368% |
| Blackford County | 11,950 | 24.9% | 454 | $331K | 368% |
| Parke County | 16,406 | 19.6% | 442 | $322K | 368% |
| Brown County | 15,606 | 11.9% | 418 | $304K | 446% |
| Newton County | 13,922 | 17.9% | 415 | $302K | 410% |
| Pulaski County | 12,441 | 18.6% | 350 | $255K | 368% |
| Tipton County | 15,346 | 11.9% | 315 | $229K | 368% |
| Benton County | 8,735 | 22.0% | 289 | $210K | 393% |
| Crawford County | 10,499 | 19.7% | 287 | $209K | 368% |
| Pike County | 12,154 | 15.4% | 272 | $198K | 368% |
| Switzerland County | 9,909 | 16.1% | 244 | $178K | 368% |
| Ohio County | 5,999 | 18.4% | 211 | $154K | 419% |
| Warren County | 8,464 | 14.1% | 202 | $147K | 368% |
| Martin County | 9,830 | 13.3% | 179 | $130K | 368% |
| Union County | 6,985 | 14.9% | 147 | $107K | 368% |
92 of 92 counties shown. Click any county for full diagnostic.