In Bannock County, Idaho, benefit checks make up only 24 cents of every dollar of income
In Bannock County, 24.2% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 62% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 51% of U.S. counties.
What drives Bannock County's score
In Bannock County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 69.6. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 38.6. People with a car or retail loan behind: 4.2%, August 2025, lower than in 65% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Bannock 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, Bannock County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (23.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 69.6 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 rent23.6% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.5% · fiscal year 202758th percentile
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- 50.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.0% · August 202545th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people138.3 · 202555th percentile
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- 48.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202653rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.5% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
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- 39.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.3% · 202442nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.0% · 202422nd percentile
- People with a disability16.1% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- People without health insurance6.5% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$69,744 · 202441st percentile
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- 38.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.2% · August 202545th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.2% · August 202534th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score36.7% · second quarter of 202635th 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 Bannock 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 Bannock County, 15.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Bannock County
Idaho
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Bannock County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 24.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Bannock County, Idaho, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Bannock County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 12.8% in 2012 to 15.3% in 2013.
The share of households in Bannock County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 14.6%
Low on the chart: 9.4% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Bannock County, Idaho.
How Bannock County has changed
Bannock County's population nearly doubled to 91,010, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 64,871. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Bannock County, Idaho.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Bannock County nearly doubled to 38,273, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 38,273. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Bannock County, Idaho.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.9% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.4% | 2024 12.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,997 | 2024 $69,744 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Bannock County's history
1860
Gold discovered 1860 brought settlers in large numbers to Idaho. Wikipedia
1997
Lightning in June 1997 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1997
Hail in August 1997 did $1.04 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 87,018, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1964
5 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Bannock County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Bannock County beside its neighbors
Bannock County scores higher than all five counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Bannock County ranks 2nd of the six; Oneida County is highest, at 25.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bannock County, ID | 48 | 12.3% | 24.2% |
| Power County, ID | 35 | 13.0% | 22.1% |
| Caribou County, ID | 20 | 10.2% | 22.6% |
| Bingham County, ID | 19 | 11.4% | 22.2% |
| Franklin County, ID | 6 | 7.9% | 20.5% |
| Oneida County, ID | 2 | 10.4% | 25.1% |
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 Bannock County the poorest county in Idaho?
No, Bannock County's poverty rate was 12.3% in 2024, 19th 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, Bannock County ranks 6th of 44 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Bannock 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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Pocatello Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc Dba Neighborworks Pocatello
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Idaho Legal Aid Services, Inc.
Legal aid
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Idaho Volunteer Lawyers Program
Legal aid
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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 Bannock 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 Bannock County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.