About one in eight people with a credit file in Latah County, Idaho, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Latah County, 12.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 91% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 77% of U.S. counties.
What drives Latah County's score
In Latah County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 64.2. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 8.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Latah 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, Latah County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (28.1%, 2020 to 2024) and people below the poverty line (17.3%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 64.2 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 rent28.1% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.3% · fiscal year 202734th percentile
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- 45.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.3% · 202477th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.9% · 202417th percentile
- People with a disability13.1% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- People without health insurance8.1% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$64,961 · 202455th percentile
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- 36.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202621st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.0% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
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- 15.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.8% · August 20259th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.6% · August 202526th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score28.7% · second quarter of 202610th percentile
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- 8.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.1% · August 20258th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people48.4 · 20258th 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 Latah 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 Latah County, 14.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Latah County
Idaho
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Latah County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 17.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Latah County, Idaho, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 17.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Latah County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.6% in 2011 to 9.4% in 2012.
The share of households in Latah County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 4.9% 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, Latah County, Idaho.
How Latah County has changed
Latah County's population had its largest rise, from 24,405 in 1969 to 27,696 in 1974.
Latah County's population nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 42,180, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 30,714. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Latah County, Idaho.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Latah County rose by about a third to 15,026, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 15,026. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Latah County, Idaho.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.8% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.7% | 2024 17.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,500 | 2024 $64,961 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Latah County's history
1888
Created May 14, 1888, by an act of Congress—the only U.S. county so established. Wikipedia
1889
University of Idaho established at Moscow in 1889 to appease residents of northern region. Wikipedia
1999
A flash flood in February 1999 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
A flash flood in May 2005 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 39,517, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1964
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Latah County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Latah County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Latah County, in Idaho and Washington, four score higher. Of the group, Latah County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Clearwater County gets the largest, at 37.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shoshone County, ID | 76 | 15.4% | 33.3% |
| Benewah County, ID | 61 | 12.9% | 32.7% |
| Clearwater County, ID | 57 | 15.2% | 37.1% |
| Whitman County, WA | 38 | 23.0% | 19.7% |
| Latah County, ID | 22 | 17.3% | 17.8% |
| Nez Perce County, ID | 22 | 10.6% | 24.6% |
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 Latah County the poorest county in Idaho?
No, Latah County's poverty rate was 17.3% in 2024, 2nd 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, Latah County ranks 31st of 44 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Latah 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 Latah County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.