In Fremont County, Idaho, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Fremont County, 16.6% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 89% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 81% of U.S. counties.
What drives Fremont County's score
In Fremont County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 46.5. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 11.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Fremont 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.
Fremont 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.
- 46.5 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202626th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.6% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
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- 46.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.3% · 202433rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.2% · 202434th percentile
- People with a disability16.9% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- People without health insurance10.6% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$73,147 · 202432nd percentile
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- 34.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector15.5% · August 202521st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people119.8 · 202546th percentile
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- 17.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.5% · August 20256th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.9% · August 202513th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.6% · second quarter of 202632nd percentile
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- 11.3 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 rent9.8% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.6% · fiscal year 202710th 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 Fremont 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 Fremont County, 18.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Fremont County
Idaho
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Fremont County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 24.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Fremont County, Idaho, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Fremont County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 9.4% in 2019 to 11.2% in 2020.
The share of households in Fremont County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 6.1% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Fremont County, Idaho.
How Fremont County has changed
Fremont County's population nearly doubled to 14,399, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 11,058. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Fremont County, Idaho.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Fremont County nearly doubled to 3,797, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 3,797. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Fremont County, Idaho.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.2% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.2% | 2024 11.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,590 | 2024 $73,147 |
The table uses 3.6% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% 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 Fremont County's history
1893
Established in 1893 from Bingham County. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 24,606. The 2020 Census counted 13,388, 54% of the peak. Census Bureau
1986
A thunderstorm in April 1986 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1976
5 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Fremont County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Fremont County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Fremont County, in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, three score higher. Of the group, Fremont County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (24.8%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark County, ID | 37 | 15.1% | 18.0% |
| Madison County, ID | 30 | 24.3% | 22.6% |
| Madison County, MT | 25 | 8.4% | 17.5% |
| Fremont County, ID | 18 | 11.3% | 24.8% |
| Beaverhead County, MT | 14 | 12.0% | 23.6% |
| Jefferson County, ID | 9 | 8.5% | 17.8% |
| Gallatin County, MT | 8 | 7.1% | 8.7% |
| Teton County, ID | 3 | 7.5% | 12.0% |
| Teton County, WY | 0 | 5.4% | 1.8% |
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 Fremont County the poorest county in Idaho?
No, Fremont 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, Fremont County ranks 36th of 44 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Fremont 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 Fremont 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 Fremont County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.