About one in 12 people with a credit file in Oneida County, Idaho, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Oneida County, 8.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 97% of U.S. counties.
What drives Oneida County's score
In Oneida County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 29.3. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 8.5. People with a car or retail loan behind: 0.0%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Oneida 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.
Oneida 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.
- 29.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.4% · 202425th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.2% · 202423rd percentile
- People with a disability13.3% · 2020 to 202424th percentile
- People without health insurance6.7% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,937 · 202433rd percentile
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- 16.3 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 rent8.0% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.3% · fiscal year 202724th percentile
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- 14.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202612th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.1% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
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- 10.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector8.4% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people60.6 · 202514th percentile
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- 8.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.8% · August 20258th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind0.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.6% · second quarter of 202611th 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 Oneida 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 Oneida County, 19.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Oneida County
Idaho
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Oneida County had its largest rise, from 19.3% in 2004 to 24.3% in 2009.
In Oneida County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 25.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Oneida County, Idaho, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Oneida County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2010 low, from 4.8% in 2009 to 1.9% in 2010.
The share of households in Oneida County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 1.9% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Oneida County, Idaho.
How Oneida County has changed
Oneida County's population nearly doubled to 4,976, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 4,115. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Oneida County, Idaho.
The number of jobs located in Oneida County had its largest rise in the last span, from 1,182 in 2020 to 1,638 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Oneida County more than doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 1,638, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2005 to 2010, reaching 1,011. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Oneida County, Idaho.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.3% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.8% | 2024 10.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,313 | 2024 $72,937 |
The table uses 2.9% for 2025; the score uses 3.0% 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 Oneida County's history
1864
Organized January 22, 1864, with county seat at Soda Springs (moved to Malad City in 1866). Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 15,170. The 2020 Census counted 4,564, 30% of the peak. Census Bureau
1910
Deep Creek Dam earthen dam failure caused flood on June 19, 1910 northeast of Malad City. Wikipedia
1975
Magnitude 6.1 earthquake March 27, 1975 damaged nearly two-thirds of homes and businesses in Malad. Wikipedia
1997
Heavy rain in August 1997 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 2005
3 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Oneida County. FEMA
Oneida County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Oneida County, in Idaho and Utah, score higher than it does. Of the group, Oneida County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (25.1%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bannock County, ID | 48 | 12.3% | 24.2% |
| Power County, ID | 35 | 13.0% | 22.1% |
| Cassia County, ID | 28 | 12.9% | 17.5% |
| Box Elder County, UT | 15 | 6.8% | 17.3% |
| Cache County, UT | 14 | 9.7% | 14.9% |
| Franklin County, ID | 6 | 7.9% | 20.5% |
| Oneida County, ID | 2 | 10.4% | 25.1% |
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 Oneida County the poorest county in Idaho?
No, Oneida County's poverty rate was 10.4% in 2024, 30th 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, Oneida County ranks 43rd of 44 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Oneida 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 Oneida 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 Oneida County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.