About one in six people with a credit file in Gem County, Idaho, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Gem County, 18.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 70% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 75% of U.S. counties.
What drives Gem County's score
In Gem County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 54.0. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 19.6. People with a credit card behind: 3.2%, August 2025, lower than in 86% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Gem 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.
Gem 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.
- 54.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.3% · 202442nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.2% · 202445th percentile
- People with a disability16.9% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- People without health insurance11.1% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,887 · 202449th percentile
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- 44.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202637th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.1% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
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- 35.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector18.0% · August 202530th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people109.2 · 202540th percentile
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- 20.9 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 rent8.0% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.2% · fiscal year 202733rd percentile
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- 19.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.2% · August 202513th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.8% · August 202529th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.0% · second quarter of 202615th 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 Gem 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 Gem County, 23.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Gem County
Idaho
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Gem County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 21.7% in 2004 to 29.0% in 2009.
In Gem County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 28.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Gem County, Idaho, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Gem County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 11.5% in 2014 to 14.1% in 2015.
The share of households in Gem County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 6.4% 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, Gem County, Idaho.
How Gem County has changed
Gem County's population more than doubled to 21,857, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 21,857. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Gem County, Idaho.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Gem County nearly doubled to 4,595, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 4,595. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Gem County, Idaho.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.6% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.6% | 2024 12.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,444 | 2024 $66,887 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Gem County's history
1862
Gold rush prospectors passed through in 1862 en route to Boise Basin gold rush. Wikipedia
1915
Established March 15, 1915, partitioned from Canyon County and Boise County. Wikipedia
2001
Boise Cascade manufacturing facility closed in 2001. Wikipedia
2010
A flood in June 2010 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 19,123, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1964
6 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Gem County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Gem County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Gem County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Gem County ranks 3rd of the eight; Washington County is highest, at 31.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington County, ID | 60 | 12.6% | 31.3% |
| Canyon County, ID | 41 | 9.9% | 21.7% |
| Adams County, ID | 39 | 12.4% | 29.2% |
| Payette County, ID | 25 | 12.7% | 24.0% |
| Gem County, ID | 24 | 12.3% | 28.1% |
| Boise County, ID | 23 | 10.0% | 23.7% |
| Ada County, ID | 14 | 8.9% | 14.2% |
| Valley County, ID | 13 | 8.8% | 18.6% |
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 Gem County the poorest county in Idaho?
No, Gem County's poverty rate was 12.3% in 2024, 19th 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, Gem County ranks 29th of 44 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Gem 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 Gem County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.