In Bear Lake County, Idaho, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Bear Lake County, 16.8% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 87% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 91% of U.S. counties.
What drives Bear Lake County's score
In Bear Lake County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 32.0. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 9.3. About one in 14 renters (7.1%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 93% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Bear Lake 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.
Bear Lake 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.
- 32.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.8% · August 202517th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people118.2 · 202546th percentile
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- 30.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.9% · 202421st percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.0% · 202427th percentile
- People with a disability14.0% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- People without health insurance6.9% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$75,337 · 202428th percentile
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- 29.5 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 202620th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.9% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
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- 16.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.4% · August 202515th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.3% · August 202520th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score30.5% · second quarter of 202614th percentile
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- 9.3 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent7.1% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.8% · fiscal year 202712th 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 Bear Lake 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 Bear Lake County, 21.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Bear Lake County
Idaho
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Bear Lake County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 27.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Bear Lake County, Idaho, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Bear Lake County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 6.4% in 2011 to 8.2% in 2012; 6.9% in 2022 to 5.1% in 2023.
The share of households in Bear Lake County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen to 4.7%
Biggest drop: 2022 to 2023, reaching 5.1%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Bear Lake County, Idaho.
How Bear Lake County has changed
Bear Lake County's population rose 17% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979
High on the chart: 7,089 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Bear Lake County, Idaho.
The number of jobs located in Bear Lake County had its largest rise in the last span, from 1,726 in 2020 to 2,013 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Bear Lake County doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 2,013, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 1,636. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Bear Lake County, Idaho.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.3% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.8% | 2024 9.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,820 | 2024 $75,337 |
The table uses 3.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.3% 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 Bear Lake County's history
1863
First settlement Paris established by Mormon pioneers September 26 1863. Wikipedia
1872
Paris settlers believed to be in Utah until survey 1872 showed location in Idaho. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 8,783. The 2020 Census counted 6,372, 73% of the peak. Census Bureau
2015
A thunderstorm in June 2015 killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
4 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Bear Lake County. FEMA
Bear Lake County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Bear Lake County, in Idaho, Utah and Wyoming, three score higher. Of the group, Bear Lake County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (27.0%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caribou County, ID | 20 | 10.2% | 22.6% |
| Rich County, UT | 17 | 8.5% | 16.7% |
| Cache County, UT | 14 | 9.7% | 14.9% |
| Bear Lake County, ID | 8 | 9.9% | 27.0% |
| Franklin County, ID | 6 | 7.9% | 20.5% |
| Lincoln County, WY | 1 | 6.9% | 15.8% |
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 Bear Lake County the poorest county in Idaho?
No, Bear Lake County's poverty rate was 9.9% in 2024, 34th 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, Bear Lake County ranks 40th of 44 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Bear Lake 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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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 Bear Lake 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 Bear Lake County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.