In Weld County, Colorado, benefit checks make up only 15 cents of every dollar of income
In Weld County, 15.0% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 92% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 61% of U.S. counties.
What drives Weld County's score
In Weld County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 62.4. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 20.4. The typical household earns $100,638 a year (2024), more than in 94% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Weld 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, Weld County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (25.0%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (203.6, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 62.4 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 rent25.0% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.6% · fiscal year 202738th percentile
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- 55.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector19.0% · August 202534th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people203.6 · 202575th percentile
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- 42.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202660th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.3% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
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- 37.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.6% · August 202551st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.3% · August 202536th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score33.3% · second quarter of 202623rd percentile
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- 20.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.6% · 202419th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.3% · 202414th percentile
- People with a disability11.6% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- People without health insurance8.0% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$100,638 · 20245th 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 Weld 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 Weld County, 12.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Weld County
Colorado
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Weld County had its largest rise, from 11.7% in 2004 to 14.4% in 2009.
In Weld County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 15.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about five times as much as benefit checks
In Weld County, Colorado, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 15.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Weld County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 8.0% in 2012 to 9.4% in 2013.
The share of households in Weld County getting SNAP food aid doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 9.1%
High on the chart: 9.7% in 2016. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Weld County, Colorado.
How Weld County has changed
Weld County's population had its largest rise in the last span, from 322,116 in 2019 to 369,745 in 2024.
Weld County's population grew to about four times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 369,745, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 132,202. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Weld County, Colorado.
The number of jobs located in Weld County had its largest rise, from 78,658 in 2010 to 101,497 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Weld County more than doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 123,486, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2005 to 2010, reaching 78,658. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Weld County, Colorado.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.7% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.8% | 2024 9.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,909 | 2024 $100,638 |
The table uses 4.3% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 Weld County's history
1858
Gold discovered along South Platte River in 1858, precipitating Pike's Peak Gold Rush. Wikipedia
1861
November 1, 1861, as one of 17 original Colorado counties. Wikipedia
1999
A thunderstorm in June 1999 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A tornado in May 2008 did $147 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A flood in September 2013 did $230 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 328,981, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2023
A flood in June 2023 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Weld County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Weld County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Weld County, in Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Weld County ranks 7th of the nine; Kimball County is highest, at 29.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan County, CO | 59 | 14.0% | 21.0% |
| Adams County, CO | 57 | 9.8% | 15.6% |
| Logan County, CO | 42 | 17.0% | 22.7% |
| Kimball County, NE | 38 | 12.9% | 29.2% |
| Weld County, CO | 38 | 9.6% | 15.0% |
| Larimer County, CO | 24 | 10.5% | 15.1% |
| Laramie County, WY | 21 | 8.4% | 19.9% |
| Boulder County, CO | 18 | 10.6% | 9.7% |
| Broomfield County, CO | 12 | 6.0% | 10.0% |
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 Weld County the poorest county in Colorado?
No, Weld County's poverty rate was 9.6% in 2024, 43rd 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, Weld County ranks 28th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Weld 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.
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 Weld County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.