About one in 10 people with a credit file in Franklin County, Idaho, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Franklin County, 10.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 93% of U.S. counties.
What drives Franklin County's score
In Franklin County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 47.3. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 5.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Franklin 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.
Franklin 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.
- 47.3 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent20.0% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.1% · fiscal year 202733rd percentile
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- 24.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202620th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.1% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
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- 20.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.9% · 20247th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.4% · 202410th percentile
- People with a disability10.5% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- People without health insurance8.4% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$79,314 · 202421st percentile
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- 9.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector10.2% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people58.1 · 202513th percentile
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- 5.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind1.8% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind0.5% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score24.6% · 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 Franklin 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 Franklin County, 14.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Franklin County
Idaho
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Franklin County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 20.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Franklin County, Idaho, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Franklin County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 4.8% in 2020 to 7.6% in 2021.
The share of households in Franklin County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2022 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 3.5% in 2017. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Franklin County, Idaho.
How Franklin County has changed
Franklin County's population doubled to 15,638, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 15,638. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Franklin County, Idaho.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Franklin County more than doubled to 4,167, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2000 to 2005, reaching 3,043. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Franklin County, Idaho.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.4% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.0% | 2024 7.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,670 | 2024 $79,314 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Franklin County's history
1913
Established in 1913 and named after Franklin D. Richards, an Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Wikipedia
2017
A flood in February 2017 did $1.72 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 14,194, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 2005
4 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Franklin County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Franklin County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Franklin County, in Idaho and Utah, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Franklin County ranks 5th of the six; Bear Lake County is highest, at 27.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bannock County, ID | 48 | 12.3% | 24.2% |
| Caribou County, ID | 20 | 10.2% | 22.6% |
| Cache County, UT | 14 | 9.7% | 14.9% |
| Bear Lake County, ID | 8 | 9.9% | 27.0% |
| Franklin County, ID | 6 | 7.9% | 20.5% |
| Oneida County, ID | 2 | 10.4% | 25.1% |
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 Franklin County the poorest county in Idaho?
No, Franklin County's poverty rate was 7.9% in 2024, 42nd 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, Franklin County ranks 41st of 44 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Franklin 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 Franklin 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 Franklin County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.