In Blaine County, Idaho, benefit checks make up only 6 cents of every dollar of income
In Blaine County, 5.7% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Blaine County's score
In Blaine County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 16.2. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 5.8. About one in five people (22.0%, Q2 2026) has a subprime credit score, a lower share than in 98% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Blaine 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.
Blaine 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.
- 16.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line6.7% · 20243rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line6.9% · 20243rd percentile
- People with a disability11.7% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- People without health insurance9.0% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$117,269 · 20242nd percentile
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- 13.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202620th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.1% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
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- 12.0 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 rent8.6% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.1% · fiscal year 202714th percentile
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- 11.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.7% · August 20257th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people59.9 · 202514th percentile
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- 5.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind1.5% · August 20251st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.0% · August 202514th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score22.0% · second quarter of 20261st 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 Blaine 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 Blaine County, 22.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Blaine County
Idaho
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Blaine County had its largest rise, from 4.6% in 2004 to 7.2% in 2009.
In Blaine County, pay from work still brings in about five times as much as benefit checks, with little change in benefit checks' share since 1969
In Blaine County, Idaho, benefit checks' share of income fell from 1969 to 2024, reaching 5.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Blaine County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 2.7% in 2012 to 4.9% in 2013.
The share of households in Blaine County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and has since fallen to 4.1%
Low on the chart: 0.9% 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, Blaine County, Idaho.
How Blaine County has changed
Blaine County's population had its largest rise, from 12,920 in 1989 to 16,501 in 1994.
Blaine County's population rose 344% from 1969 to 2024, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 21,863. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Blaine County, Idaho.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Blaine County doubled to 14,438, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 14,438. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Blaine County, Idaho.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.0% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 7.3% | 2024 6.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,368 | 2024 $117,269 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Blaine County's history
1890
Wood River Valley mining economy substantially declined by 1890. Wikipedia
1895
Created March 5, 1895 by combining Alturas and Logan counties. Wikipedia
2017
A flood in May 2017 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A flood in June 2017 did $4.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 24,272, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2023
A flood in June 2023 did $1.9 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1964
7 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Blaine County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Blaine County beside its neighbors
All nine counties that border Blaine County score higher than it does. Of the group, Blaine County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Custer County gets the largest, at 26.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custer County, ID | 41 | 14.7% | 26.9% |
| Elmore County, ID | 40 | 11.3% | 24.7% |
| Power County, ID | 35 | 13.0% | 22.1% |
| Lincoln County, ID | 31 | 11.4% | 21.1% |
| Cassia County, ID | 28 | 12.9% | 17.5% |
| Minidoka County, ID | 28 | 10.0% | 21.0% |
| Butte County, ID | 28 | 15.1% | 26.9% |
| Camas County, ID | 24 | 9.0% | 18.2% |
| Bingham County, ID | 19 | 11.4% | 22.2% |
| Blaine County, ID | 0 | 6.7% | 5.7% |
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 Blaine County the poorest county in Idaho?
No, Blaine County's poverty rate was 6.7% in 2024, the lowest 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, Blaine County ranks 44th of 44 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Blaine 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 Blaine 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 Blaine County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.