About one in five people with a credit file in Lincoln County, Colorado, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Lincoln County, 20.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 62% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 58% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lincoln County's score
In Lincoln County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 64.8. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 29.9. Bankruptcy filings ran at 73 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 78% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lincoln 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, Lincoln County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (4.9%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and people below the poverty line (16.9%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 64.8 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202676th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.2% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
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- 62.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.9% · 202475th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.9% · 202459th percentile
- People with a disability17.4% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- People without health insurance7.6% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,865 · 202468th percentile
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- 35.8 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 rent11.5% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.1% · fiscal year 202754th percentile
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- 32.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.4% · August 202532nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.5% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.1% · second quarter of 202660th percentile
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- 29.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector20.1% · August 202538th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people73 · 202521st 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County, 18.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lincoln County
Colorado
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Lincoln County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 29.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Lincoln County, Colorado, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Lincoln County getting SNAP food aid more than doubled to 12.3%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2015 to 2016, reaching 11.2%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lincoln County, Colorado.
How Lincoln County has changed
Lincoln County's population had its largest rise, from 4,612 in 1989 to 5,689 in 1994.
Lincoln County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 8% since
High on the chart: 6,097 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lincoln County, Colorado.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Lincoln County rose by about half to 2,190, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 1,826. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lincoln County, Colorado.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.7% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.3% | 2024 16.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,360 | 2024 $60,865 |
The table uses 4.8% for 2025; the score uses 4.9% 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 Lincoln County's history
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 8,273. The 2020 Census counted 5,675, 69% of the peak. Census Bureau
1990
A tornado in June 1990 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
A tornado in May 1999 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
10 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lincoln County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lincoln County beside its neighbors
Of the nine counties that border Lincoln County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lincoln County ranks 3rd of the 10; Crowley County is highest, at 39.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pueblo County, CO | 87 | 15.8% | 32.5% |
| Crowley County, CO | 62 | 39.0% | 39.1% |
| Arapahoe County, CO | 43 | 7.8% | 12.8% |
| Lincoln County, CO | 41 | 16.9% | 29.6% |
| El Paso County, CO | 41 | 8.7% | 18.9% |
| Kiowa County, CO | 29 | 14.7% | 23.8% |
| Cheyenne County, CO | 27 | 13.2% | 21.0% |
| Washington County, CO | 23 | 12.8% | 27.3% |
| Kit Carson County, CO | 21 | 12.9% | 26.8% |
| Elbert County, CO | 7 | 5.7% | 12.8% |
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 Lincoln County the poorest county in Colorado?
No, Lincoln County's poverty rate was 16.9% in 2024, 13th 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, Lincoln County ranks 24th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lincoln 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.