About four in five adults aged 25 to 54 in Twin Falls County, Idaho, have a job
In Twin Falls County, 16.3% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 77% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 62% of U.S. counties.
What drives Twin Falls County's score
In Twin Falls County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 58.0. Jobs are the lowest part, at 26.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Twin Falls 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.
Twin Falls 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.
- 58.0 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent20.0% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.1% · fiscal year 202754th percentile
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- 52.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector20.6% · August 202540th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people165 · 202564th percentile
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- 38.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.8% · August 202539th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.8% · August 202545th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.3% · second quarter of 202630th percentile
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- 38.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.9% · 202429th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.6% · 202425th percentile
- People with a disability14.4% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- People without health insurance10.2% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$73,098 · 202432nd percentile
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- 26.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202628th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.3% · 2020 to 202423rd 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 Twin Falls 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 Twin Falls County, 16.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Twin Falls County
Idaho
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Twin Falls County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 17.1% in 2004 to 22.4% in 2009.
In Twin Falls County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 22.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Twin Falls County, Idaho, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Twin Falls County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 10.0% in 2011 to 12.4% in 2012.
The share of households in Twin Falls County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 7.3% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Twin Falls County, Idaho.
How Twin Falls County has changed
Twin Falls County's population more than doubled to 96,509, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2004 to 2009, reaching 76,271. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Twin Falls County, Idaho.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Twin Falls County doubled to 42,703, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 36,442. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Twin Falls County, Idaho.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.5% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.4% | 2024 10.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,949 | 2024 $73,098 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Twin Falls County's history
1905
Milner Dam constructed (1905). Wikipedia
1907
Created February 21, 1907 by the Idaho Legislature. Wikipedia
2010
Dell closed its Twin Falls facility (2010). Wikipedia
2017
A flood in February 2017 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 90,046, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 2005
4 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Twin Falls County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Twin Falls County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Twin Falls County, in Idaho and Nevada, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Twin Falls County ranks 2nd of the seven; Elmore County is highest, at 24.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owyhee County, ID | 56 | 13.2% | 21.5% |
| Elmore County, ID | 40 | 11.3% | 24.7% |
| Twin Falls County, ID | 37 | 10.9% | 22.2% |
| Jerome County, ID | 32 | 11.1% | 19.5% |
| Gooding County, ID | 30 | 13.5% | 17.9% |
| Cassia County, ID | 28 | 12.9% | 17.5% |
| Elko County, NV | 27 | 9.5% | 15.7% |
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 Twin Falls County the poorest county in Idaho?
No, Twin Falls County's poverty rate was 10.9% in 2024, 28th 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, Twin Falls County ranks 14th of 44 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Twin Falls 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 Housing and Finance Association--twin Falls Branch Office
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Twin Falls 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 Twin Falls County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.