The state gave 58 counties a $500,000 that should have gone to other counties because of a mistake from the auditor's office.
Brown County has been forced to put off some of its plans to pave gravel roads because of budget constraints.
The report from the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation ranked all of Indiana's 92 counties.
IU experts say the recent tax cap and the end of the toll road lease will keep local city and county budgets on the edge for at least a few years.