About one in 10 people in Moffat County, Colorado, lives below the poverty line
In Moffat County, 10.1% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 76% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 63% of U.S. counties.
What drives Moffat County's score
In Moffat County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 50.4. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 31.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Moffat 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.
Moffat County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 50.4 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202666th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.1% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
-
- 44.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.1% · August 202544th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.7% · August 202542nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.2% · second quarter of 202646th percentile
-
- 41.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.1% · 202423rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.5% · 202436th percentile
- People with a disability16.2% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- People without health insurance9.7% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$74,252 · 202430th percentile
-
- 41.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.6% · August 202547th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people97.5 · 202534th percentile
-
- 31.9 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 rent13.3% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.8% · fiscal year 202739th percentile
-
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 Moffat 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 Moffat County, 16.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Moffat County
Colorado
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Moffat County had its largest rise, from 17.4% in 2014 to 22.7% in 2019.
In Moffat County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 25.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Moffat County, Colorado, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Moffat County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 11.7% in 2018 to 8.6% in 2019.
The share of households in Moffat County getting SNAP food aid rose by about a third from 2009 to 2024, reaching 12.0%
High on the chart: 12.7% in 2015. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Moffat County, Colorado.
How Moffat County has changed
Moffat County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 13,142, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979
High on the chart: 13,728 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Moffat County, Colorado.
The number of jobs located in Moffat County rose most sharply from its first year (4,237 in 1990) to 4,783 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Moffat County was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and is down 10% since
High on the chart: 5,064 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Moffat County, Colorado.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.6% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.1% | 2024 10.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $34,116 | 2024 $74,252 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.6% 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 Moffat County's history
1970
Largest power generation plant in Colorado constructed near Craig. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 13,795. The 2020 Census counted 13,292, 96% of the peak. Census Bureau
2019
A flood in July 2019 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1977
6 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Moffat County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Moffat County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Moffat County, in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah, one scores higher. Of the group, Moffat County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (25.0%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweetwater County, WY | 38 | 9.1% | 17.4% |
| Uintah County, UT | 36 | 12.5% | 19.5% |
| Moffat County, CO | 36 | 10.1% | 25.0% |
| Daggett County, UT | 24 | 8.1% | 24.1% |
| Carbon County, WY | 18 | 10.8% | 16.6% |
| Rio Blanco County, CO | 17 | 10.9% | 22.0% |
| Routt County, CO | 10 | 6.6% | 7.6% |
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 Moffat County the poorest county in Colorado?
No, Moffat County's poverty rate was 10.1% in 2024, 41st 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, Moffat County ranks 31st of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Moffat 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.
-
Colorado Legal Services
Legal aid
-
Colorado Bar Association — Find a Lawyer directory
Find a lawyer
-
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 Moffat 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 Moffat County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.