In Clear Creek County, Colorado, benefit checks make up only 13 cents of every dollar of income
In Clear Creek County, 12.9% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 85% of U.S. counties.
What drives Clear Creek County's score
In Clear Creek County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 64.1. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 15.3. The typical household earns $94,796 a year (2024), more than in 92% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Clear Creek County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Even so, Clear Creek County is worse off than most counties on rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (27.5%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 64.1 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent15.8% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income27.5% · fiscal year 202791st percentile
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- 24.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.0% · August 202510th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.3% · August 202551st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.7% · second quarter of 202612th percentile
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- 18.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector18.0% · August 202530th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people43.7 · 20257th percentile
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- 18.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202630th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.0% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
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- 15.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.1% · 20248th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.3% · 202414th percentile
- People with a disability12.4% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- People without health insurance5.7% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$94,796 · 20247th percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Clear Creek County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Clear Creek County, 22.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Clear Creek County
Colorado
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Clear Creek County had its largest rise, from 6.5% in 2004 to 10.4% in 2009.
In Clear Creek County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 343% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Clear Creek County, Colorado, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 12.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Clear Creek County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 4.1% in 2009 to 5.5% in 2010; 5.5% in 2010 to 4.1% in 2011.
The share of households in Clear Creek County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen to 6.0%
Low on the chart: 4.1% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Clear Creek County, Colorado.
How Clear Creek County has changed
Clear Creek County's population had its largest rise, from 5,754 in 1974 to 6,986 in 1979.
Clear Creek County's population doubled from 1969 to 2019, reaching 9,412, then turned down in 2024
High on the chart: 9,412 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Clear Creek County, Colorado.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Clear Creek County rose by about half to 3,430, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 3,430. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Clear Creek County, Colorado.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.9% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.4% | 2024 8.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $29,498 | 2024 $94,796 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Clear Creek County's history
1861
Created November 1, 1861 as one of the original 17 counties with unchanged original boundaries. Wikipedia
1893
Silver boom in 1880s made Georgetown rival Leadville as mining capital; population exceeded 10,000 before collapse of silver boom in 1893. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 9,397, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1969
9 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Clear Creek County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Clear Creek County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Clear Creek County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Clear Creek County ranks 4th of the six; Park County is highest, at 18.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County, CO | 20 | 7.2% | 13.3% |
| Park County, CO | 17 | 8.1% | 18.7% |
| Clear Creek County, CO | 14 | 8.1% | 12.9% |
| Grand County, CO | 10 | 8.0% | 12.0% |
| Summit County, CO | 10 | 7.7% | 6.6% |
| Gilpin County, CO | 8 | 7.3% | 15.1% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Clear Creek County the poorest county in Colorado?
No, Clear Creek County's poverty rate was 8.1% in 2024, 49th highest of 64 in Colorado (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Crowley County, at 39.0%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Clear Creek County ranks 52nd of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Clear Creek County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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Colorado Legal Services
Legal aid
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Colorado Bar Association — Find a Lawyer directory
Find a lawyer
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Clear Creek County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Clear Creek County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.