About one in six people with a credit file in Nez Perce County, Idaho, has unpaid debt sent to a collector

In Nez Perce County, 17.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 74% of U.S. counties.

Photo of Ross Kilburn
Data from
County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026
32nd
of 44 counties in Idaho
22score /100

Less distressed than 77% of U.S. counties.

What drives Nez Perce County's score

In Nez Perce County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 53.9. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 19.6. People with a car or retail loan behind: 2.4%, August 2025, lower than in 92% of U.S. counties.

The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Nez Perce 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.

Nez Perce 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.

  • Housing costs

    Biggest factor
    53.9 of 100

    Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027

    • Renters paying half their income or more in rent
      20.2% · 2020 to 2024
      62nd percentile
    • Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income
      20.2% · fiscal year 2027
      44th percentile

  • Income and safety net

    39.3 of 100

    Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey

    • People below the poverty line
      10.6% · 2024
      27th percentile
    • Children below the poverty line
      11.3% · 2024
      19th percentile
    • People with a disability
      18.1% · 2020 to 2024
      68th percentile
    • People without health insurance
      7.7% · 2020 to 2024
      48th percentile
    • Median household income (lower income, longer bar)
      $73,255 · 2024
      32nd percentile

  • Jobs

    32.2 of 100

    Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey

    • Unemployment rate, average over the latest year
      3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026
      33rd percentile
    • Adults 25 to 54 not working
      17.6% · 2020 to 2024
      30th percentile

  • Collections and bankruptcy

    23.3 of 100

    Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025

    • People with unpaid debt sent to a collector
      17.0% · August 2025
      26th percentile
    • Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people
      72.1 · 2025
      20th percentile

  • Late payments

    19.7 of 100

    Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026

    • People with a credit card behind
      3.5% · August 2025
      17th percentile
    • People with a car or retail loan behind
      2.4% · August 2025
      7th percentile
    • People with a subprime credit score
      36.2% · second quarter of 2026
      33rd 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 Nez Perce 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 Nez Perce County, 21.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.

Cents of every dollar of income, 2024

Nez Perce County

56 19 25

Idaho

57 25 19

United States

61 21 18
  • Pay from work
  • Investments and rent
  • Benefit checks
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4), shares of all personal income received by residents, 2024. Pay from work is total income minus the other two, so the three add to 100.

In Nez Perce County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 24.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks

In Nez Perce County, Idaho, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.

  • Benefit checks
  • Pay from work
0%40%80% 196919741979198419891994199920042009201420192024 0%40%80% 196919791989199920092024
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4), shares of all personal income received by residents, Nez Perce County, Idaho American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/idaho/nez-perce-county-id/
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The share of households in Nez Perce County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 12.7% in 2018 to 10.6% in 2019.

The share of households in Nez Perce County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about half

Low on the chart: 7.2% 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, Nez Perce County, Idaho.

0%10%20% 9.8%7.3% 2009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 0%10%20% 9.8%7.3% 20092011201320152017201920212024
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/idaho/nez-perce-county-id/
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How Nez Perce County has changed

Nez Perce County's population had its largest rise, from 33,640 in 1989 to 36,533 in 1994.

Nez Perce County's population rose 42% from 1969 to 2024, with no dip in any year shown

Smallest rise: 1999 to 2004, reaching 37,798. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Nez Perce County, Idaho.

025,00050,000 30,22442,847 196919741979198419891994199920042009201420192024 025,00050,000 30,22442,847 196919791989199920092024
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/idaho/nez-perce-county-id/
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The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.

The number of jobs located in Nez Perce County rose by about a third to 21,772, the highest on the chart

Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 19,021. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Nez Perce County, Idaho.

015,00030,000 16,61321,772 19901995200020052010201520202025 015,00030,000 16,61321,772 19901995200020052010201520202025
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/idaho/nez-perce-county-id/
Download data (CSV)
MeasureThenNowSource
Unemployment rateBLS LAUS 1990 3.9% 2025 3.7% BLS LAUS
People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE 1989 11.9% 2024 10.6% Census SAIPE
Median household incomeCensus SAIPE 1989 $25,881 2024 $73,255 Census SAIPE

The table uses 3.7% 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 Nez Perce County's history

  1. 1860

    Gold discovered on Nez Perce reservation in August 1860 by Elias D. Pierce disguised as trader. Wikipedia

  2. 1861

    Originally organized in 1861 as part of Washington Territory; reorganized in 1864 by Idaho Territorial Legislature. Wikipedia

  3. 1877

    Nez Perce War briefly affected town in 1877. Wikipedia

  4. 2005

    A flash flood in May 2005 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database

  5. 2005

    A flash flood in May 2005 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database

  6. 2020

    The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 42,090, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau

  7. 2022

    A flood in June 2022 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database

  8. 2023

    A flash flood in June 2023 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database

  9. Since 1964

    12 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Nez Perce County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA

Nez Perce County beside its neighbors

Of the seven counties that border Nez Perce County, in Idaho, Washington and Oregon, six score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Nez Perce County ranks 6th of the eight; Lewis County is highest, at 38.3%.

CountyDistress scoreScoreRank in its state Poverty rateBenefit checks, share of incomeBenefit checks
Clearwater County, ID 57 4th of 44 15.2% 37.1%
Asotin County, WA 44 17th of 39 12.3% 31.0%
Lewis County, ID 42 7th of 44 12.5% 38.3%
Whitman County, WA 38 27th of 39 23.0% 19.7%
Wallowa County, OR 34 30th of 36 11.7% 29.0%
Idaho County, ID 26 25th of 44 14.0% 32.3%
Latah County, ID 22 31st of 44 17.3% 17.8%
Nez Perce County, ID 22 32nd of 44 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 Nez Perce County the poorest county in Idaho?

No, Nez Perce County's poverty rate was 10.6% in 2024, 29th 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, Nez Perce County ranks 32nd of 44 in the state.

If you're behind on your mortgage in Nez Perce 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 foreclosure guide →

The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.

Download the CSV for Nez Perce County · Every U.S. county (CSV)

Cite this Nez Perce County, Idaho, scores 22 on the County Distress Index (data through Sep 2026): less distressed than 77% of U.S. counties · American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/idaho/nez-perce-county-id/

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 Nez Perce County comes from, 2024.
  • History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.