Benefit checks make up 35 cents of every dollar of income in Conejos County, Colorado
In Conejos County, 35.3% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 83% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 57% of U.S. counties.
What drives Conejos County's score
In Conejos County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 77.3. About one in seven people (13.6%, 2020 to 2024) has no health insurance, a higher share than in 85% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 62.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Conejos 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.
Conejos County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (79.8, 2025) and people with unpaid debt sent to a collector (17.7%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 77.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.1% · 202476th percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.9% · 202467th percentile
- People with a disability18.7% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- People without health insurance13.6% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$53,781 · 202484th percentile
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- 62.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.3% · August 202547th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.9% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score40.1% · second quarter of 202649th percentile
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- 53.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202645th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.6% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
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- 52.0 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent15.7% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.6% · fiscal year 202768th percentile
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- 27.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.7% · August 202529th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people79.8 · 202525th 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 Conejos 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 Conejos County, 20.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Conejos County
Colorado
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Conejos County, benefit checks' share of income has risen by about half since 1969, reaching 35.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Conejos County, Colorado, benefit checks' share of income rose by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Conejos County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (15.8% in 2009) to 19.2% in 2010.
The share of households in Conejos County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 15.8% 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, Conejos County, Colorado.
How Conejos County has changed
Conejos County's population had its largest rise, from 7,789 in 1994 to 8,336 in 1999.
Conejos County's population fell 3% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 8,353 in 2004. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Conejos County, Colorado.
The number of jobs located in Conejos County had its largest drop, from 1,604 in 2000 to 1,344 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Conejos County rose 30% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
High on the chart: 1,647 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Conejos County, Colorado.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 11.7% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 36.2% | 2024 17.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $14,560 | 2024 $53,781 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Conejos County's history
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 11,648. The 2020 Census counted 7,461, 64% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1970
7 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Conejos County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Conejos County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Conejos County, in Colorado and New Mexico, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Conejos County ranks 3rd of the seven; Costilla County is highest, at 48.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Costilla County, CO | 93 | 22.8% | 48.3% |
| Taos County, NM | 70 | 17.2% | 33.9% |
| Alamosa County, CO | 66 | 17.9% | 30.1% |
| Rio Grande County, CO | 58 | 14.7% | 28.8% |
| Conejos County, CO | 57 | 17.1% | 35.3% |
| Rio Arriba County, NM | 56 | 17.1% | 37.2% |
| Archuleta County, CO | 23 | 10.5% | 26.2% |
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 Conejos County the poorest county in Colorado?
No, Conejos County's poverty rate was 17.1% in 2024, 11th 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, Conejos County ranks 17th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Conejos 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 Conejos 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 Conejos County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.