In Gooding County, Idaho, benefit checks make up only 18 cents of every dollar of income
In Gooding County, 17.9% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 85% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 69% of U.S. counties.
What drives Gooding County's score
In Gooding County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 62.1. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 27.1. People with a credit card behind: 2.5%, August 2025, lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Gooding 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, Gooding County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (19.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 62.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.5% · 202452nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.4% · 202440th percentile
- People with a disability17.2% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- People without health insurance19.1% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$63,073 · 202461st percentile
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- 42.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector19.2% · August 202535th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people124.5 · 202549th percentile
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- 35.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202628th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.4% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
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- 27.7 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 rent10.3% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.0% · fiscal year 202742nd percentile
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- 27.1 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 behind3.7% · August 202527th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.4% · second quarter of 202647th 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 Gooding 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 Gooding County, 18.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Gooding County
Idaho
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Gooding County had its largest drop, from 22.2% in 2009 to 12.7% in 2014.
In Gooding County, benefit checks' share of income has grown since 1969, reaching 17.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Gooding County, Idaho, benefit checks' share of income rose from 1969 to 2024, reaching 17.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Gooding County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 14.8% in 2017 to 9.0% in 2018.
The share of households in Gooding County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 1.7% 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, Gooding County, Idaho.
How Gooding County has changed
Gooding County's population doubled to 16,189, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 10,318. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Gooding County, Idaho.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Gooding County doubled to 6,664, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2000 to 2005, reaching 6,200. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Gooding County, Idaho.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.9% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.7% | 2024 13.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,826 | 2024 $63,073 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Gooding County's history
1862
Gold discovery in 1862 brought small mining settlement compared to Boise Valley rush. Wikipedia
1913
Created January 28, 1913, by partition of Lincoln County. Wikipedia
2017
A flood in February 2017 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 15,598, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1964
7 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Gooding County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Gooding County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Gooding County, four score higher. Of the group, Gooding County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Elmore County gets the largest, at 24.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elmore County, ID | 40 | 11.3% | 24.7% |
| Twin Falls County, ID | 37 | 10.9% | 22.2% |
| Jerome County, ID | 32 | 11.1% | 19.5% |
| Lincoln County, ID | 31 | 11.4% | 21.1% |
| Gooding County, ID | 30 | 13.5% | 17.9% |
| Camas County, ID | 24 | 9.0% | 18.2% |
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 Gooding County the poorest county in Idaho?
No, Gooding County's poverty rate was 13.5% in 2024, 10th 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, Gooding County ranks 19th of 44 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Gooding 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 Gooding 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 Gooding County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.