“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
4 school districts have their office in Independence County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $42.7 million — $34.7 million to run schools, about $10,000 per student, plus $3.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $7.5 million local (mostly property tax), $30.4 million state, $6.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $41.3 million.
Spent $24.8 million — $22.4 million to run schools, about $10,049 per student, plus $711,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.9 million local (mostly property tax), $18.3 million state, $4.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $27.5 million.
Spent $11.8 million — $11 million to run schools, about $17,231 per student, plus $470,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.5 million local (mostly property tax), $7.1 million state, $2.3 million federal. Long-term debt: $6.3 million.
Spent $8.2 million — $7.9 million to run schools, about $15,370 per student, plus $82,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $872,000 local (mostly property tax), $4.9 million state, $2 million federal. Long-term debt: $6.1 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Independence County about $24.3 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Low; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
182 bridges in Independence County: 67 in good condition, 101 fair, and 14 poor (7.7%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| SH 25/Independ. Co over BLUE CREEK · built 1955 | 5,500 vehicles a day |
| SH 14/Indepen. Co. over SALADO CREEK · built 1961 | 1,900 vehicles a day |
| SH 233/Indepen Co. over TWO MILE CREEK · built 1956 | 820 vehicles a day |
| Independence CR 53 over BAILEY CREEK · built 1940 | 310 vehicles a day |
| CR 18/Indepen Co. over SHOAT BRANCH · built 1990 | 282 vehicles a day |
| Cr36 / Indepen. Co over MILL CREEK · built 1954 | 258 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $8.3 million of work in Independence County in fiscal 2025, about $218 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Related: The money trail · Your tax bill, explained · Water · Jails & prisons · Grants. Spot an error? Report it.