About one in 11 people in Mineral County, Colorado, lives below the poverty line
In Mineral County, 9.5% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 82% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 55% of U.S. counties.
What drives Mineral County's score
In Mineral County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 77.3. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 22.9. About three in ten people (30.6%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a lower share than in 85% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Mineral 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, Mineral County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (12.9%, 2020 to 2024) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (23.9%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 77.3 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 rent23.9% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.2% · fiscal year 202772nd percentile
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- 58.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202659th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.0% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
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- 44.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.5% · 202418th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.8% · 202432nd percentile
- People with a disability17.2% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- People without health insurance12.9% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$76,933 · 202425th percentile
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- 31.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collectornot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202520th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 peoplenot published for this county; scored at the state median · 202542nd percentile
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- 22.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202532nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202521st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score30.6% · second quarter of 202614th 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 Mineral 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 Mineral County, 32.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Mineral County
Colorado
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Mineral County had its largest rise, from 6.8% in 1984 to 10.5% in 1989.
In Mineral County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 20.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Mineral County, Colorado, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.5%; 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 Mineral County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2023 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 0.0% in 2013. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Mineral County, Colorado.
How Mineral County has changed
Mineral County's population had its largest drop, from 801 in 1984 to 579 in 1989.
Mineral County's population fell to its lowest on the chart in 1989, then climbed past the 1969 level
Low on the chart: 579 in 1989. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Mineral County, Colorado.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Mineral County more than doubled to 607, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 463. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Mineral County, Colorado.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.7% | 2025 4.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.4% | 2024 9.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,748 | 2024 $76,933 |
The table uses 4.9% for 2025; the score uses 4.3% 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 Mineral County's history
1869
Silver discovered in the San Juan Mountains. Wikipedia
1890
Holy Moses mining claim staked; mining camps sprang up in gulch. Wikipedia
1890
Mining population boom in Creede gulch area. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 1,913. The 2020 Census counted 865, 45% of the peak. Census Bureau
2008
Lightning in July 2008 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1970
7 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Mineral County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Mineral County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Mineral County, two score higher. Of the group, Mineral County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Saguache County gets the largest, at 29.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saguache County, CO | 72 | 23.7% | 29.2% |
| Rio Grande County, CO | 58 | 14.7% | 28.8% |
| Mineral County, CO | 44 | 9.5% | 20.5% |
| Archuleta County, CO | 23 | 10.5% | 26.2% |
| Hinsdale County, CO | 15 | 8.5% | 21.8% |
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 Mineral County the poorest county in Colorado?
No, Mineral County's poverty rate was 9.5% in 2024, 45th 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, Mineral County ranks 21st of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Mineral 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 Mineral 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 Mineral County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.