About one in seven people with a credit file in Boise County, Idaho, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Boise County, 14.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 84% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 76% of U.S. counties.
What drives Boise County's score
In Boise County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 57.0. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 17.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Boise 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.
Boise 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.
- 57.1 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202654th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.3% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
-
- 41.3 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 rent9.7% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.0% · fiscal year 202771st percentile
-
- 37.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.0% · 202422nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.6% · 202442nd percentile
- People with a disability15.3% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
- People without health insurance9.3% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$80,449 · 202419th percentile
-
- 19.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.0% · August 202541st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.7% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.7% · second quarter of 202612th percentile
-
- 17.3 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 people70.4 · 202519th 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 Boise 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 Boise County, 28.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Boise County
Idaho
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Boise County had its largest rise, from 14.3% in 2004 to 20.4% in 2009.
In Boise County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 23.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Boise County, Idaho, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Boise County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 9.3% in 2018 to 5.6% in 2019.
The share of households in Boise County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 4.9% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Boise County, Idaho.
How Boise County has changed
Boise County's population grew to about five times its 1969 size, reaching 8,581, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1989 to 1994, reaching 4,847. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Boise County, Idaho.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Boise County doubled to 1,831, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 1,335. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Boise County, Idaho.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.9% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.6% | 2024 10.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,463 | 2024 $80,449 |
The table uses 4.2% 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 Boise County's history
1862
Boise Basin gold rush, gold discovered in 1862, one of nation's richest mining districts. Wikipedia
1864
Established February 4, 1864 with county seat at Idaho City. Wikipedia
2010
A thunderstorm in August 2010 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 7,610, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
-
Since 1964
6 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Boise County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Boise County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Boise County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Boise County ranks 4th of the six; Gem County is highest, at 28.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custer County, ID | 41 | 14.7% | 26.9% |
| 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% |
| Valley County, ID | 13 | 8.8% | 18.6% |
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 Boise County the poorest county in Idaho?
No, Boise County's poverty rate was 10.0% in 2024, 32nd 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, Boise County ranks 30th of 44 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Boise 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 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 Boise County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.