About one in six people with a credit file in Elmore County, Idaho, has unpaid debt sent to a collector

In Elmore County, 17.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 73% of U.S. counties.

Photo of Ross Kilburn
Data from
County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026
10th
of 44 counties in Idaho
40score /100

Less distressed than 59% of U.S. counties.

What drives Elmore County's score

In Elmore County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 53.8. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 33.7. People with a car or retail loan behind: 2.7%, August 2025, lower than in 88% of U.S. counties.

The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Elmore 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.

Elmore 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.

  • Jobs

    Biggest factor
    53.8 of 100

    Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey

    • Unemployment rate, average over the latest year
      4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026
      60th percentile
    • Adults 25 to 54 not working
      20.3% · 2020 to 2024
      47th percentile

  • Housing costs

    45.8 of 100

    Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027

    • Renters paying half their income or more in rent
      13.2% · 2020 to 2024
      23rd percentile
    • Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income
      22.7% · fiscal year 2027
      68th percentile

  • Income and safety net

    45.4 of 100

    Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey

    • People below the poverty line
      11.3% · 2024
      33rd percentile
    • Children below the poverty line
      13.7% · 2024
      31st percentile
    • People with a disability
      16.6% · 2020 to 2024
      55th percentile
    • People without health insurance
      9.1% · 2020 to 2024
      60th percentile
    • Median household income (lower income, longer bar)
      $68,067 · 2024
      45th percentile

  • Collections and bankruptcy

    42.7 of 100

    Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025

    • People with unpaid debt sent to a collector
      17.2% · August 2025
      27th percentile
    • Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people
      144.7 · 2025
      58th percentile

  • Late payments

    33.7 of 100

    Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026

    • People with a credit card behind
      5.2% · August 2025
      45th percentile
    • People with a car or retail loan behind
      2.7% · August 2025
      11th percentile
    • People with a subprime credit score
      38.7% · second quarter of 2026
      44th 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 Elmore 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 Elmore County, 14.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.

Cents of every dollar of income, 2024

Elmore County

54 22 25

Idaho

57 25 19

United States

61 21 18
  • Pay from work
  • Investments and rent
  • Benefit checks
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4), shares of all personal income received by residents, 2024. Pay from work is total income minus the other two, so the three add to 100.

In Elmore County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about seven times its 1969 level, reaching 24.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks

In Elmore County, Idaho, benefit checks' share of income grew to about seven times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 24.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.

  • Benefit checks
  • Pay from work
0%40%80% 196919741979198419891994199920042009201420192024 0%40%80% 196919791989199920092024
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4), shares of all personal income received by residents, Elmore County, Idaho American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/idaho/elmore-county-id/
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The share of households in Elmore County getting SNAP food aid rose most from 6.7% in 2011 to 10.5% in 2013, 1.9 points each year.

The share of households in Elmore County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 7.8%

Low on the chart: 5.5% 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, Elmore County, Idaho.

0%10%20% 5.5%7.8% 2009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 0%10%20% 5.5%7.8% 20092011201320152017201920212024
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/idaho/elmore-county-id/
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How Elmore County has changed

Elmore County's population nearly doubled to 29,729, the highest on the chart

Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 28,889. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Elmore County, Idaho.

015,00030,000 17,82929,729 196919741979198419891994199920042009201420192024 015,00030,000 17,82929,729 196919791989199920092024
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/idaho/elmore-county-id/
Download data (CSV)

The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.

The number of jobs located in Elmore County rose by about half to 7,522, the highest on the chart

Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 5,839. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Elmore County, Idaho.

04,0008,000 5,1017,522 19901995200020052010201520202025 04,0008,000 5,1017,522 19901995200020052010201520202025
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/idaho/elmore-county-id/
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MeasureThenNowSource
Unemployment rateBLS LAUS 1990 5.7% 2025 4.3% BLS LAUS
People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE 1989 13.6% 2024 11.3% Census SAIPE
Median household incomeCensus SAIPE 1989 $24,468 2024 $68,067 Census SAIPE

Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.

Dated events in Elmore County's history

  1. 1880

    Rocky Bar mining settlement impacted by poor management and lawsuits between 1869-1880. Wikipedia

  2. 1889

    Established February 7, 1889 from parts of Alturas and Owyhee counties, with Rocky Bar as initial county seat. Wikipedia

  3. 1943

    Mountain Home Air Force Base opened August 1943 as bomber training base, operational under Strategic Air Command through 1965. Wikipedia

  4. 1950

    Anderson Ranch Dam completed in 1950, was world's highest earthfill dam at that time. Wikipedia

  5. 2000

    The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 29,130. The 2020 Census counted 28,666, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau

  6. 2021

    A thunderstorm in May 2021 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database

  7. Since 1964

    9 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Elmore County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA

Elmore County beside its neighbors

Of the eight counties that border Elmore County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Elmore County ranks 2nd of the nine; Custer County is highest, at 26.9%.

CountyDistress scoreScoreRank in its state Poverty rateBenefit checks, share of incomeBenefit checks
Owyhee County, ID 56 5th of 44 13.2% 21.5%
Custer County, ID 41 9th of 44 14.7% 26.9%
Elmore County, ID 40 10th of 44 11.3% 24.7%
Twin Falls County, ID 37 14th of 44 10.9% 22.2%
Gooding County, ID 30 19th of 44 13.5% 17.9%
Camas County, ID 24 28th of 44 9.0% 18.2%
Boise County, ID 23 30th of 44 10.0% 23.7%
Ada County, ID 14 37th of 44 8.9% 14.2%
Blaine County, ID 0 44th of 44 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 Elmore County the poorest county in Idaho?

No, Elmore County's poverty rate was 11.3% in 2024, 24th 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, Elmore County ranks 10th of 44 in the state.

If you're behind on your mortgage in Elmore 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 foreclosure guide →

The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.

Download the CSV for Elmore County · Every U.S. county (CSV)

Cite this Elmore County, Idaho, scores 40 on the County Distress Index (data through Sep 2026): less distressed than 59% of U.S. counties · American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/idaho/elmore-county-id/

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 Elmore County comes from, 2024.
  • History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.