In Ada County, Idaho, benefit checks make up only 14 cents of every dollar of income
In Ada County, 14.2% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 85% of U.S. counties.
What drives Ada County's score
In Ada County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 57.5. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 15.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Ada 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.
Ada 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.
- 57.5 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 rent21.8% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.1% · fiscal year 202743rd percentile
-
- 30.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.1% · August 202515th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people116.5 · 202544th percentile
-
- 23.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202625th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.2% · 2020 to 202422nd percentile
-
- 15.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.9% · 202414th percentile
- Children below the poverty line7.5% · 20244th percentile
- People with a disability11.8% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
- People without health insurance6.4% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$91,898 · 20249th percentile
-
- 15.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.2% · August 202513th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.6% · August 202526th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score26.4% · second quarter of 20265th 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 Ada 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 Ada County, 16.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Ada County
Idaho
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Ada County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 14.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Ada County, Idaho, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 14.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Ada County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.2% in 2011 to 8.8% in 2012.
The share of households in Ada County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 5.1% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Ada County, Idaho.
How Ada County has changed
Ada County's population had its largest rise, from 427,252 in 2014 to 485,095 in 2019.
Ada County's population grew to about five times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 535,799, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 200,950. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Ada County, Idaho.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Ada County tripled to 295,234, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 295,234. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Ada County, Idaho.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.7% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.2% | 2024 8.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $30,093 | 2024 $91,898 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Ada County's history
1811
Fur trading expedition passed through Boise valley 1811. Wikipedia
1844
Hudson's Bay Company maintained Old Fort Boise until 1844. Wikipedia
1864
December 22, 1864, partitioned from Boise County. Wikipedia
2017
A flood in March 2017 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A flood in April 2017 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A flood in May 2017 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 494,967, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2023
A flash flood in June 2023 did $1,000,000 in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1964
6 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Ada County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Ada County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Ada County score higher than it does. Of the group, Ada County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Gem County gets the largest, at 28.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owyhee County, ID | 56 | 13.2% | 21.5% |
| Canyon County, ID | 41 | 9.9% | 21.7% |
| Elmore County, ID | 40 | 11.3% | 24.7% |
| Gem County, ID | 24 | 12.3% | 28.1% |
| Boise County, ID | 23 | 10.0% | 23.7% |
| Ada County, ID | 14 | 8.9% | 14.2% |
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 Ada County the poorest county in Idaho?
No, Ada County's poverty rate was 8.9% in 2024, 38th highest of 44 in Idaho (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Madison County, at 24.3%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Ada County ranks 37th of 44 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Ada 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.
-
Idaho Housing and Finance Association
HUD-approved housing counselor
-
Idaho Housing and Finance Association
HUD-approved housing counselor
-
Neighborhood Housing Services Inc Dba Neighborworks Boise
HUD-approved housing counselor
-
Idaho Legal Aid Services, Inc.
Legal aid
-
Idaho Volunteer Lawyers Program
Legal aid
-
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 Ada County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.