About one in seven people with a credit file in Idaho County, Idaho, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Idaho County, 14.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 84% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 73% of U.S. counties.
What drives Idaho County's score
In Idaho County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 70.4. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 14.4. People with a credit card behind: 2.7%, August 2025, lower than in 91% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Idaho 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.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 70.4 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202670th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.3% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
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- 62.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.0% · 202456th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.6% · 202452nd percentile
- People with a disability17.7% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
- People without health insurance14.2% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,189 · 202451st percentile
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- 19.9 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 rent9.1% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.8% · fiscal year 202729th percentile
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- 15.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.2% · August 202515th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people61.5 · 202515th percentile
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- 14.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.7% · August 20258th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.2% · August 202518th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.1% · second quarter of 202616th 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 Idaho 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 Idaho County, 29.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Idaho County
Idaho
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Idaho County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, but pay from work still brings in 29% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Idaho County, Idaho, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 32.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Idaho County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2023 low, from 5.6% in 2022 to 4.1% in 2023.
The share of households in Idaho County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 4.6%
Low on the chart: 4.1% 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, Idaho County, Idaho.
How Idaho County has changed
Idaho County's population rose 40% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 17,912. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Idaho County, Idaho.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Idaho County rose by about a fifth to 4,573, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2000 to 2005, reaching 4,435. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Idaho County, Idaho.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.4% | 2025 5.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.9% | 2024 14.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,527 | 2024 $66,189 |
The table uses 5.0% for 2025; the score uses 4.6% 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 Idaho County's history
1861
Founded December 20, 1861, as a region of Washington Territory. Wikipedia
1861
Gold discovered in succession at Elk City, Newsome, and Florence in spring and summer of 1861. Wikipedia
1877
Battle of White Bird Canyon in 1877 resulted from efforts to force Nez Perce to reservation. Wikipedia
1992
A thunderstorm in July 1992 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flood in April 2019 did $6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 16,541, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2024
A flash flood in April 2024 did $8,000,000 in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1964
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Idaho County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Idaho County beside its neighbors
Of the nine counties that border Idaho County, in Idaho, Oregon and Montana, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Idaho County ranks 3rd of the 10; Lewis County is highest, at 38.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clearwater County, ID | 57 | 15.2% | 37.1% |
| Lewis County, ID | 42 | 12.5% | 38.3% |
| Adams County, ID | 39 | 12.4% | 29.2% |
| Wallowa County, OR | 34 | 11.7% | 29.0% |
| Lemhi County, ID | 29 | 14.2% | 31.2% |
| Ravalli County, MT | 26 | 10.9% | 23.3% |
| Idaho County, ID | 26 | 14.0% | 32.3% |
| Nez Perce County, ID | 22 | 10.6% | 24.6% |
| Missoula County, MT | 18 | 9.2% | 15.9% |
| 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 Idaho County the poorest county in Idaho?
No, Idaho County's poverty rate was 14.0% in 2024, 9th 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, Idaho County ranks 25th of 44 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Idaho 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 Idaho County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.