About one in nine people with a credit file in Custer County, Idaho, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Custer County, 10.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 58% of U.S. counties.
What drives Custer County's score
In Custer County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 79.0. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 10.0. People with a credit card behind: 1.0%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Custer 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, Custer County is worse off than most counties on people with a disability (24.8%, 2020 to 2024) and adults 25 to 54 not working (27.3%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 79.0 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202675th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.3% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
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- 72.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.7% · 202462nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.3% · 202461st percentile
- People with a disability24.8% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance12.1% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,400 · 202462nd percentile
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- 39.2 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 rent11.5% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.9% · fiscal year 202761st percentile
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- 23.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector10.7% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people110.5 · 202541st percentile
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- 10.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind1.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.3% · August 202520th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score25.3% · second quarter of 20265th 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 Custer 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 Custer County, 36.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Custer County
Idaho
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Custer County made its largest gain on the way to its 2019 high, from 19.6% in 2014 to 27.1% in 2019.
In Custer County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 26.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Custer County, Idaho, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 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 Custer County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 6.5% in 2018 to 10.1% in 2019.
The share of households in Custer County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 4.2% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Custer County, Idaho.
How Custer County has changed
Custer County's population had its largest rise, from 3,210 in 1979 to 5,171 in 1984.
Custer County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 5,171 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Custer County, Idaho.
The number of jobs located in Custer County had its largest drop, from 1,673 in 2010 to 1,418 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Custer County was about the same in 2025 as in 1990, after reaching its lowest on the chart in 2015
Low on the chart: 1,418 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Custer County, Idaho.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.5% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.3% | 2024 14.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,392 | 2024 $62,400 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Custer County's history
1876
Gold discovered in General Custer Mine five years before county was named for it. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 4,368. The 2020 Census counted 4,275, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau
2017
A flood in May 2017 did $3.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1983
7 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Custer County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Custer County beside its neighbors
Custer County scores higher than all six counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Custer County ranks 2nd of the seven; Lemhi County is highest, at 31.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custer County, ID | 41 | 14.7% | 26.9% |
| Elmore County, ID | 40 | 11.3% | 24.7% |
| Lemhi County, ID | 29 | 14.2% | 31.2% |
| Butte County, ID | 28 | 15.1% | 26.9% |
| Boise County, ID | 23 | 10.0% | 23.7% |
| Valley County, ID | 13 | 8.8% | 18.6% |
| 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 Custer County the poorest county in Idaho?
No, Custer County's poverty rate was 14.7% in 2024, 7th 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, Custer County ranks 9th of 44 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Custer 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 Custer 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 Custer County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.