About one in 12 people in Yuma County, Colorado, has a disability
In Yuma County, 8.5% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 70% of U.S. counties.
What drives Yuma County's score
In Yuma County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 80.8. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 5.7. Bankruptcy filings ran at 30.4 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Yuma 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, Yuma County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (29.7%, 2020 to 2024) and people without health insurance (15.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.8 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 rent29.7% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.4% · fiscal year 202766th percentile
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- 55.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.4% · 202451st percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.8% · 202459th percentile
- People with a disability8.5% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- People without health insurance15.7% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,621 · 202468th percentile
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- 27.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.8% · August 202538th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.5% · August 202523rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score32.4% · second quarter of 202620th percentile
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- 21.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.7% · 2020 to 202437th percentile
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- 5.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.3% · August 20256th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people30.4 · 20255th 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 Yuma 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 Yuma County, 18.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Yuma County
Colorado
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Yuma County had its largest rise, from 13.0% in 2004 to 18.9% in 2009.
In Yuma County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 21.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Yuma County, Colorado, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Yuma County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 10.6% in 2020 to 13.4% in 2021.
The share of households in Yuma County getting SNAP food aid grew to about seven times its 2009 level in 2024, reaching 13.3%
High on the chart: 14.1% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Yuma County, Colorado.
How Yuma County has changed
Yuma County's population rose 17% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979
High on the chart: 10,168 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Yuma County, Colorado.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Yuma County nearly doubled to 4,047, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 3,521. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Yuma County, Colorado.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.1% | 2025 2.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.0% | 2024 13.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,240 | 2024 $60,621 |
The table uses 2.5% for 2025; the score uses 2.4% 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 Yuma County's history
1889
March 15, 1889, split from Washington County. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 13,897. The 2020 Census counted 9,988, 72% of the peak. Census Bureau
1971
A tornado in October 1971 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
Hail in June 1998 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A thunderstorm in June 2011 did $3.4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
A thunderstorm in June 2021 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
7 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Yuma County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Yuma County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Yuma County, in Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Yuma County ranks 6th of the eight; Phillips County is highest, at 28.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logan County, CO | 42 | 17.0% | 22.7% |
| Yuma County, CO | 29 | 13.4% | 21.5% |
| Washington County, CO | 23 | 12.8% | 27.3% |
| Kit Carson County, CO | 21 | 12.9% | 26.8% |
| Cheyenne County, KS | 19 | 11.6% | 25.7% |
| Phillips County, CO | 10 | 11.4% | 28.0% |
| Dundy County, NE | 8 | 12.9% | 21.4% |
| Chase County, NE | 8 | 10.1% | 20.5% |
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 Yuma County the poorest county in Colorado?
No, Yuma County's poverty rate was 13.4% in 2024, 22nd 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, Yuma County ranks 34th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Yuma 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 Yuma County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.