About one in 26 people with a credit file in Butte County, Idaho, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Butte County, 3.8% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 71% of U.S. counties.
What drives Butte County's score
In Butte County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 61.5. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 17.2. People with a credit card behind: 2.0%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Butte 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.
Butte 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.
- 61.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.1% · 202465th percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.8% · 202463rd percentile
- People with a disability18.9% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- People without health insurance7.8% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,057 · 202454th percentile
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- 51.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202642nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.5% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
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- 33.4 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 rent7.5% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.7% · fiscal year 202759th percentile
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- 22.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector3.8% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people108.8 · 202540th percentile
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- 17.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202520th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score34.2% · second quarter of 202626th 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 Butte 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 Butte County, 20.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Butte County
Idaho
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Butte County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 26.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Butte County, Idaho, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 26.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Butte County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.7% in 2012 to 11.4% in 2013.
The share of households in Butte County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 3.4% 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, Butte County, Idaho.
How Butte County has changed
Butte County's population had its largest drop, from 3,442 in 1984 to 2,946 in 1989.
Butte County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 3,442 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Butte County, Idaho.
The number of jobs located in Butte County had its largest drop, from 14,277 in 1990 to 5,363 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Butte County fell 28% from 1990 to 2025, with its low point on the chart in 2005
Low on the chart: 4,140 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Butte County, Idaho.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.4% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.2% | 2024 15.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,718 | 2024 $65,057 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Butte County's history
1917
Established February 6, 1917 from parts of Bingham, Blaine, and Jefferson counties, named for the Big Southern, Middle, and East Buttes. Wikipedia
1960
The county's largest recorded population was the 1960 Census count of 3,498. The 2020 Census counted 2,574, 74% of the peak. Census Bureau
1961
SL-1 reactor destroyed on January 3, 1961 with steam explosion killing three personnel at NRTS. Wikipedia
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Since 1964
6 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Butte County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Butte County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Butte County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Butte County ranks 3rd of the seven; Lemhi County is highest, at 31.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custer County, ID | 41 | 14.7% | 26.9% |
| Clark County, ID | 37 | 15.1% | 18.0% |
| Lemhi County, ID | 29 | 14.2% | 31.2% |
| Butte County, ID | 28 | 15.1% | 26.9% |
| Bingham County, ID | 19 | 11.4% | 22.2% |
| Jefferson County, ID | 9 | 8.5% | 17.8% |
| 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 Butte County the poorest county in Idaho?
No, Butte County's poverty rate was 15.1% in 2024, 5th 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, Butte County ranks 24th of 44 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Butte 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.
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 Butte County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.