In Minidoka County, Idaho, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Minidoka County, 17.7% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 81% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 71% of U.S. counties.
What drives Minidoka County's score
In Minidoka County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 55.8. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 24.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Minidoka 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, Minidoka County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (13.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 55.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.3% · August 202548th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.0% · August 202573rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.0% · second quarter of 202645th percentile
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- 41.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.4% · August 202543rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people106.8 · 202539th percentile
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- 37.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.0% · 202422nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.4% · 202419th percentile
- People with a disability13.5% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
- People without health insurance13.4% · 2020 to 202484th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,149 · 202435th percentile
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- 28.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202632nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.7% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
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- 24.1 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 rent14.7% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.7% · fiscal year 202718th 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 Minidoka 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 Minidoka County, 16.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Minidoka County
Idaho
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Minidoka County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 21.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Minidoka County, Idaho, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Minidoka County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 9.1% in 2020 to 11.3% in 2021.
The share of households in Minidoka County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half from 2009 to 2023, reaching 11.6%, then turned down in 2024
High on the chart: 11.6% 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, Minidoka County, Idaho.
How Minidoka County has changed
Minidoka County's population rose 44% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 17,989. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Minidoka County, Idaho.
The number of jobs located in Minidoka County rose most sharply after its 2010 low, from 6,439 in 2010 to 7,562 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Minidoka County rose 43% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
High on the chart: 9,227 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Minidoka County, Idaho.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.0% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.2% | 2024 10.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,025 | 2024 $72,149 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.6% 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 Minidoka County's history
1906
Minidoka Dam constructed 1904–1906 as part of reclamation project under President Theodore Roosevelt. Wikipedia
1913
Created January 28, 1913, by partition of Lincoln County. Wikipedia
2017
A flood in February 2017 did $6.14 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 21,613, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1964
5 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Minidoka County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Minidoka County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Minidoka County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Minidoka County ranks 2nd of the five; Lincoln County is highest, at 21.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jerome County, ID | 32 | 11.1% | 19.5% |
| Lincoln County, ID | 31 | 11.4% | 21.1% |
| Cassia County, ID | 28 | 12.9% | 17.5% |
| Minidoka County, ID | 28 | 10.0% | 21.0% |
| Blaine County, ID | 0 | 6.7% | 5.7% |
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 Minidoka County the poorest county in Idaho?
No, Minidoka County's poverty rate was 10.0% in 2024, 32nd 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, Minidoka County ranks 23rd of 44 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Minidoka 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 Minidoka 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 Minidoka County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.