In San Miguel County, Colorado, benefit checks make up only 5 cents of every dollar of income
In San Miguel County, 5.3% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 89% of U.S. counties.
What drives San Miguel County's score
In San Miguel County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 58.5. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 5.4. People with a car or retail loan 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 San Miguel 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, San Miguel County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (34.8%, 2020 to 2024) and people without health insurance (15.2%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 58.5 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 rent34.8% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.0% · fiscal year 202722nd percentile
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- 30.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202656th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working11.5% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
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- 22.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.0% · 20248th percentile
- Children below the poverty line6.8% · 20245th or lower percentile
- People with a disability7.8% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- People without health insurance15.2% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$108,571 · 20245th or lower percentile
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- 7.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector6.7% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people50.8 · 20259th percentile
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- 5.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.4% · August 20256th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.6% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score23.1% · 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 San Miguel 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 San Miguel County, 18.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
San Miguel County
Colorado
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in San Miguel County had its largest drop, from 8.9% in 1984 to 6.1% in 1989.
In San Miguel County, pay from work still brings in about nine times as much as benefit checks, and benefit checks' share of income is smaller than in 1969
In San Miguel County, Colorado, benefit checks' share of income fell from 1969 to 2024, reaching 5.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in San Miguel County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 2.1% in 2022 to 3.5% in 2023.
The share of households in San Miguel County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 1.5% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, San Miguel County, Colorado.
How San Miguel County has changed
San Miguel County's population had its largest rise, from 3,407 in 1989 to 5,171 in 1994.
San Miguel County's population grew to about four times its 1969 size in 2019, reaching 8,135, then turned down in 2024
High on the chart: 8,135 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, San Miguel County, Colorado.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in San Miguel County tripled to 6,079, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 4,113. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, San Miguel County, Colorado.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.1% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.3% | 2024 8.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,928 | 2024 $108,571 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 4.2% 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 San Miguel County's history
1875
Smuggler gold vein discovered 1875. Wikipedia
1896
Unions formed as miners joined Western Federation of Miners in 1896; 1899 strike led mines to grant $3 a day for 8-hour day plus $1 boarding pay. Wikipedia
1903
Western Federation of Miners proposal for eight-hour day approved by 72 percent of Colorado voters; San Juan District Mining Association refused to consider reduction in hours or increase in wages, provoking a bitter strike. Wikipedia
1920
Smuggler-Union, Tomboy, and Liberty Bell mines combined produced over a hundred tons of gold by 1920, third in the state of Colorado. Wikipedia
1978
Idarado Mining Company kept Telluride Pandora hard-rock mine open until 1978, when mining operations closed and snow became town's source of income through skiing and tourism. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 8,072, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1970
8 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered San Miguel County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
San Miguel County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border San Miguel County, in Colorado and Utah, score higher than it does. Of the group, San Miguel County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Dolores County gets the largest, at 31.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan County, UT | 62 | 19.5% | 29.6% |
| Dolores County, CO | 40 | 15.2% | 31.4% |
| Montrose County, CO | 40 | 12.9% | 27.2% |
| San Juan County, CO | 38 | 11.7% | 19.2% |
| Ouray County, CO | 15 | 7.1% | 15.8% |
| San Miguel County, CO | 10 | 8.0% | 5.3% |
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 San Miguel County the poorest county in Colorado?
No, San Miguel County's poverty rate was 8.0% in 2024, 51st 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, San Miguel County ranks 57th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in San Miguel 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 San Miguel 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 San Miguel County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.