In Clark County, Idaho, benefit checks make up only 18 cents of every dollar of income
In Clark County, 18.0% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 85% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 62% of U.S. counties.
What drives Clark County's score
In Clark County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 73.0. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 12.8. About one in four people (25.0%, Q1 2019) has a subprime credit score, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Clark 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, Clark County is worse off than most counties on adults 25 to 54 not working (37.1%, 2020 to 2024) and people without health insurance (17.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 73.0 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202651st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working37.1% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 64.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.1% · 202465th percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.0% · 202460th percentile
- People with a disability13.6% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- People without health insurance17.1% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,726 · 202474th percentile
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- 36.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collectornot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202523rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people124.8 · 202549th percentile
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- 27.9 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 rent4.6% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.7% · fiscal year 202750th percentile
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- 12.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, first quarter of 2019
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202513th 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 score25.0% · first quarter of 20195th or lower 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 Clark 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 Clark County, 12.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Clark County
Idaho
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Clark County had its largest rise, from 8.5% in 1999 to 13.7% in 2004.
In Clark County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 18.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Clark County, Idaho, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 18.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Clark County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 4.3%
Low on the chart: 1.8% 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, Clark County, Idaho.
How Clark County has changed
Clark County's population rose most sharply from its first year (727 in 1969) to 871 in 1974.
Clark County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 988 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Clark County, Idaho.
The number of jobs located in Clark County had its largest drop, from 427 in 2015 to 299 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Clark County was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and is down 43% since
High on the chart: 522 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Clark County, Idaho.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.9% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.9% | 2024 15.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,191 | 2024 $58,726 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.0% 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 Clark County's history
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 1,886. The 2020 Census counted 790, 42% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 2005
3 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Clark County. FEMA
Clark County beside its neighbors
Clark County scores higher than all five counties that border it, in Idaho and Montana. For the share of income from benefit checks, Clark County ranks 5th of the six; Lemhi County is highest, at 31.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark County, ID | 37 | 15.1% | 18.0% |
| Lemhi County, ID | 29 | 14.2% | 31.2% |
| Butte County, ID | 28 | 15.1% | 26.9% |
| Fremont County, ID | 18 | 11.3% | 24.8% |
| Beaverhead County, MT | 14 | 12.0% | 23.6% |
| Jefferson County, ID | 9 | 8.5% | 17.8% |
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 Clark County the poorest county in Idaho?
No, Clark 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, Clark County ranks 13th of 44 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Clark 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 Clark County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.