In Payette County, Idaho, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Payette County, 18.3% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 75% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 74% of U.S. counties.
What drives Payette County's score
In Payette County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 51.4. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 17.2. People with a car or retail loan behind: 2.5%, August 2025, lower than in 90% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Payette 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.
Payette 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.
- 51.4 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202662nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.2% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
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- 48.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.7% · 202446th percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.7% · 202442nd percentile
- People with a disability18.0% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- People without health insurance7.1% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,338 · 202440th percentile
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- 31.7 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 rent16.3% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.3% · fiscal year 202724th percentile
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- 30.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.2% · August 202527th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people95.3 · 202533rd percentile
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- 17.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.9% · August 20259th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.5% · August 20259th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score36.0% · second quarter of 202633rd 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 Payette 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 Payette County, 19.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Payette County
Idaho
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Payette County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 24.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Payette County, Idaho, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Payette County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 13.1% in 2021 to 15.5% in 2022.
The share of households in Payette County getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 15.6%
High on the chart: 16.4% in 2015. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Payette County, Idaho.
How Payette County has changed
Payette County's population had its largest rise in the last span, from 24,819 in 2019 to 27,662 in 2024.
Payette County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27,662, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 16,453. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Payette County, Idaho.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Payette County nearly doubled to 7,196, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 5,121. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Payette County, Idaho.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.5% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 21.5% | 2024 12.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,617 | 2024 $70,338 |
The table uses 4.3% 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 Payette County's history
1917
Established February 28, 1917, partitioned from Canyon County. Wikipedia
2010
A flood in June 2010 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 25,386, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1964
6 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Payette County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Payette County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Payette County, in Idaho and Oregon, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Payette County ranks 4th of the five; Malheur County is highest, at 40.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malheur County, OR | 61 | 18.5% | 40.2% |
| Washington County, ID | 60 | 12.6% | 31.3% |
| Canyon County, ID | 41 | 9.9% | 21.7% |
| Payette County, ID | 25 | 12.7% | 24.0% |
| Gem County, ID | 24 | 12.3% | 28.1% |
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 Payette County the poorest county in Idaho?
No, Payette County's poverty rate was 12.7% in 2024, 15th 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, Payette County ranks 26th of 44 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Payette 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 Payette 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 Payette County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.