About one in five people in Shoshone County, Idaho, has a disability
In Shoshone County, 21.8% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 87% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 76% of U.S. counties.
What drives Shoshone County's score
In Shoshone County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 78.9. Unemployment averaged 5.1%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, higher than in 83% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 71.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Shoshone 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.
Shoshone County does better than most counties on two measures: people with unpaid debt sent to a collector (20.5%, August 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (17.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 78.9 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202683rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.1% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
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- 71.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.4% · 202467th percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.8% · 202463rd percentile
- People with a disability21.8% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
- People without health insurance9.2% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,309 · 202479th percentile
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- 66.7 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 rent17.7% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.6% · fiscal year 202785th percentile
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- 57.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector20.5% · August 202539th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people199.6 · 202574th percentile
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- 54.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.0% · August 202559th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.2% · August 202549th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score41.4% · second quarter of 202654th 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 Shoshone 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 Shoshone County, 23.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Shoshone County
Idaho
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Shoshone County had its largest rise, from 20.8% in 1989 to 27.6% in 1994.
In Shoshone County, benefit checks' share of income has grown since 1969, reaching 33.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Shoshone County, Idaho, benefit checks' share of income rose from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Shoshone County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2022 to 2023, reaching 11.7%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Shoshone County, Idaho.
How Shoshone County has changed
Shoshone County's population had its largest drop, from 16,781 in 1984 to 13,822 in 1989.
Shoshone County's population fell 28% from 1969 to 2024, with its low point on the chart in 2014
Low on the chart: 12,510 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Shoshone County, Idaho.
The number of jobs located in Shoshone County had its largest drop, from 4,980 in 1990 to 4,277 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Shoshone County was about the same in 2025 as in 1990, after reaching its lowest on the chart in 1995
Low on the chart: 4,277 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Shoshone County, Idaho.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.3% | 2025 5.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.9% | 2024 15.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,785 | 2024 $56,309 |
The table uses 5.6% for 2025; the score uses 5.1% 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 Shoshone County's history
1860
Gold discovery at Pierce (October 1860). Wikipedia
1864
Established February 4, 1864 by the Idaho Territory territorial legislature. Wikipedia
1892
Mine workers strike with deaths and U.S. Army intervention (1892). Wikipedia
1899
Union miners dynamited Bunker Hill & Sullivan mill (1899). Wikipedia
1910
Great Fire burned much of county including parts of Wallace (1910). Wikipedia
1950
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 22,806. The 2020 Census counted 13,169, 58% of the peak. Census Bureau
1989
A thunderstorm in August 1989 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flood in January 2011 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1964
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Shoshone County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Shoshone County beside its neighbors
Shoshone County scores higher than all seven counties that border it, in Idaho and Montana. For the share of income from benefit checks, Shoshone County ranks 4th of the eight; Clearwater County is highest, at 37.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shoshone County, ID | 76 | 15.4% | 33.3% |
| Sanders County, MT | 65 | 13.9% | 36.5% |
| Benewah County, ID | 61 | 12.9% | 32.7% |
| Clearwater County, ID | 57 | 15.2% | 37.1% |
| Mineral County, MT | 48 | 12.6% | 33.9% |
| Bonner County, ID | 39 | 11.0% | 23.8% |
| Kootenai County, ID | 32 | 9.0% | 19.8% |
| Latah County, ID | 22 | 17.3% | 17.8% |
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 Shoshone County the poorest county in Idaho?
No, Shoshone County's poverty rate was 15.4% in 2024, 3rd 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, Shoshone County ranks 1st of 44 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Shoshone 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 Shoshone 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 Shoshone County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.