About one in 19 people with a credit file in Custer County, Colorado, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Custer County, 5.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 77% of U.S. counties.
What drives Custer County's score
In Custer County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 65.0. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 5.0. People with a credit card behind: 1.6%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Custer 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, Custer County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (24.2%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 65.0 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 rent24.2% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.3% · fiscal year 202746th percentile
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- 50.9 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 202633rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.0% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
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- 40.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.6% · 202436th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.6% · 202452nd percentile
- People with a disability16.7% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- People without health insurance5.0% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$71,090 · 202438th percentile
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- 8.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector5.4% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people54.2 · 202511th percentile
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- 5.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind1.6% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind0.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score25.1% · second quarter of 20265th or lower 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 Custer 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 Custer County, 33.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Custer County
Colorado
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Custer County had its largest rise, from 15.6% in 2004 to 22.0% in 2009.
In Custer County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 31.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Custer County, Colorado, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Custer County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 10.6% in 2016 to 7.2% in 2017.
The share of households in Custer County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 7.6%
Low on the chart: 4.9% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Custer County, Colorado.
How Custer County has changed
Custer County's population grew to about five times its 1969 size, reaching 5,553, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 3,455. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Custer County, Colorado.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Custer County tripled to 1,029, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 606. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Custer County, Colorado.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.5% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.1% | 2024 11.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,803 | 2024 $71,090 |
The table uses 3.7% for 2025; the score uses 3.6% 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 Custer County's history
1877
Created March 9, 1877 from the southern half of Fremont County. Wikipedia
2008
Lightning in July 2008 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
Lightning in August 2011 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 4,704, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1999
7 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Custer County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Custer County beside its neighbors
All four counties that border Custer County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Custer County ranks 4th of the five; Huerfano County is highest, at 40.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pueblo County, CO | 87 | 15.8% | 32.5% |
| Huerfano County, CO | 72 | 19.2% | 40.0% |
| Saguache County, CO | 72 | 23.7% | 29.2% |
| Fremont County, CO | 70 | 15.3% | 32.8% |
| Custer County, CO | 22 | 11.6% | 31.4% |
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 Custer County the poorest county in Colorado?
No, Custer County's poverty rate was 11.6% in 2024, 31st 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, Custer County ranks 41st of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Custer 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 Custer 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 Custer County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.