Prairie State Wire

Among Illinois counties, Boone, Montgomery and Bond had the highest percentage of property owners with mortgages who owe at least 25 percent more on their loans than their property is worth, according to an analysis by ATTOM Data Solutions looking at home equity at the end of the first quarter.

In Boone County, 40 percent of all properties with a mortgage were considered “seriously underwater.” The second highest county was Montgomery (38 percent), followed by Bond (37 percent). The analysis is based on a home’s estimated market value.

In Illinois, owners of 387,854 properties with mortgages owe at least 25 percent more on their loans than their property is worth. The state ranks fifth in the U.S., with 15.9 percent of all properties with a mortgage considered “seriously underwater.”

In this analysis, only those counties where sufficient mortgage data was available were ranked.

Counties with highest rates of underwater mortgages

County	Population	Housing Units	Total Seriously Underwater	Percent Seriously Underwater
Boone	53,656	19,959	4,066	40%
Montgomery	29,301	12,966	1,309	38%
Bond	17,137	7,101	765	37%
Massac	14,883	7,082	341	35%
Marion	38,503	18,132	618	34%
Randolph	32,934	13,782	1,228	34%
Clark	16,089	7,759	661	33%
Coles	52,802	23,425	1,903	32%
Bureau	33,822	15,664	1,445	32%
Mcdonough	31,727	14,395	1,194	31%
La Salle	111,935	49,871	5,758	31%
Macoupin	46,482	21,556	1,224	30%
Hamilton	8,251	4,071	130	30%
Macon	108,404	50,321	5,309	30%
Lee	34,718	15,042	1,673	29%
Clinton	37,858	15,539	1,864	28%
Vermilion	79,613	36,005	2,841	27%
Perry	21,595	9,474	472	27%
Jackson	59,188	28,683	934	26%
Stephenson	46,283	21,899	133	26%
Mason	13,931	7,036	568	25%
Knox	51,752	23,908	2,052	23%
Winnebago	288,896	125,591	15,639	23%
Jefferson	38,523	16,836	701	22%
Jo Daviess	22,186	13,596	561	22%
Jersey	22,441	10,016	567	22%
Henry	49,681	22,096	2,094	21%
Iroquois	28,814	13,421	255	21%
Saline	24,659	11,639	377	21%
Ford	13,758	6,324	453	20%
Saint Clair	265,569	118,372	10,844	20%
Ogle	52,034	22,552	1,881	19%
Logan	29,820	11,966	508	19%
De Kalb	104,458	41,017	3,771	19%
Livingston	37,278	15,845	710	19%
Peoria	186,818	83,487	8,355	19%
Rock Island	146,536	65,800	6,565	19%
Whiteside	57,155	25,722	1,205	19%
Union	17,458	7,912	119	19%
Morgan	34,801	15,412	992	18%
Madison	266,759	118,170	12,429	18%
Sangamon	198,639	90,612	6,731	18%
Fulton	36,047	16,190	279	17%
Champaign	206,420	89,646	6,474	16%
Christian	33,888	15,501	732	16%
Lake	702,890	261,715	28,570	16%
Mchenry	307,083	117,242	13,647	15%
Cook	5,227,575	2,177,342	142,534	15%
Effingham	34,356	14,731	752	15%
Moultrie	14,915	6,349	249	15%
Warren	17,611	7,667	277	15%
Tazewell	135,400	58,172	5,083	14%
Kankakee	111,493	45,182	1,988	13%
Carroll	14,793	8,424	111	13%
Will	685,378	239,953	21,738	13%
Kane	526,615	184,075	14,394	12%
Mclean	173,254	71,254	3,665	12%
Du Page	930,514	357,549	29,103	12%
Grundy	50,338	20,358	1,335	12%
Kendall	121,452	41,088	3,385	11%
Adams	66,949	29,991	777	11%
Monroe	33,703	13,771	787	10%
Dewitt	16,322	7,513	177	10%

Source: ATTOM Data Solutions