About one in 11 people in Kootenai County, Idaho, lives below the poverty line
In Kootenai County, 9.0% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 85% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 67% of U.S. counties.
What drives Kootenai County's score
In Kootenai County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 61.3. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 13.9. People with a car or retail loan behind: 2.7%, August 2025, lower than in 89% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Kootenai 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.
Kootenai 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.
- 61.3 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 rent20.1% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.7% · fiscal year 202760th percentile
-
- 55.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202664th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.0% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
-
- 41.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.8% · August 202518th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people162.7 · 202564th percentile
-
- 28.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.0% · 202415th percentile
- Children below the poverty line8.8% · 20248th percentile
- People with a disability15.0% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- People without health insurance9.4% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$83,330 · 202415th percentile
-
- 13.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.6% · August 202519th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.7% · August 202510th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.4% · second quarter of 202611th percentile
-
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 Kootenai 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 Kootenai County, 20.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Kootenai County
Idaho
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Kootenai County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 16.6% in 2004 to 21.0% in 2009.
In Kootenai County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 19.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Kootenai County, Idaho, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 19.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Kootenai County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.1% in 2009 to 8.9% in 2010.
The share of households in Kootenai County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2020 to 2021, reaching 7.8%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Kootenai County, Idaho.
How Kootenai County has changed
Kootenai County's population had its largest rise in the last span, from 167,432 in 2019 to 188,323 in 2024.
Kootenai County's population grew to about five times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 188,323, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 67,738. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Kootenai County, Idaho.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Kootenai County tripled to 71,925, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 35,497. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Kootenai County, Idaho.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.5% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.0% | 2024 9.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,411 | 2024 $83,330 |
The table uses 4.5% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 Kootenai County's history
1864
Created December 22, 1864, as Lah-Toh; reorganized and renamed Kootenai by 1867. Wikipedia
1940
Mining and logging diminished in importance after 1940s as tourism became main economic influence. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 171,362, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
-
Since 1964
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Kootenai County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Kootenai County beside its neighbors
All four counties that border Kootenai County, in Idaho and Washington, score higher than it does. Of the group, Kootenai County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Shoshone County gets the largest, at 33.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shoshone County, ID | 76 | 15.4% | 33.3% |
| Benewah County, ID | 61 | 12.9% | 32.7% |
| Spokane County, WA | 40 | 10.8% | 22.9% |
| Bonner County, ID | 39 | 11.0% | 23.8% |
| Kootenai County, ID | 32 | 9.0% | 19.8% |
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 Kootenai County the poorest county in Idaho?
No, Kootenai County's poverty rate was 9.0% in 2024, 36th 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, Kootenai County ranks 16th of 44 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Kootenai 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.
-
Idaho Housing and Finance Association--coeur D'alene Branch Office
HUD-approved housing counselor
-
Idaho Legal Aid Services, Inc.
Legal aid
-
Idaho Volunteer Lawyers Program
Legal aid
-
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 Kootenai 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 Kootenai County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.