About one in five people with a credit file in Franklin County, Maine, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Franklin County, 20.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 59% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 65% of U.S. counties.
What drives Franklin County's score
In Franklin County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 56.8. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 23.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 38.9 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Franklin 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.
Even so, Franklin County is worse off than most counties on rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (25.2%, fiscal year 2027) and people with a disability (19.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 56.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.3% · 202450th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.3% · 202435th percentile
- People with a disability19.5% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
- People without health insurance7.9% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,281 · 202469th percentile
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- 54.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202647th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.6% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
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- 47.6 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 rent9.6% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.2% · fiscal year 202784th percentile
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- 23.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.2% · August 202528th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.1% · August 202514th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score34.6% · second quarter of 202627th percentile
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- 23.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector20.7% · August 202540th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people38.9 · 20255th 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 Franklin 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 Franklin County, 23.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Franklin County
Maine
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Franklin County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 31.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Franklin County, Maine, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Franklin County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2019 low, from 15.2% in 2018 to 13.2% in 2019.
The share of households in Franklin County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 13.2% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Franklin County, Maine.
How Franklin County has changed
Franklin County's population rose 39% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 26,775. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Franklin County, Maine.
The number of jobs located in Franklin County fell most sharply after its 2005 high, from 12,133 in 2005 to 10,982 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Franklin County fell 11% from 1990 to 2025, with its low point on the chart in 2020
Low on the chart: 9,639 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Franklin County, Maine.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.4% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.0% | 2024 13.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,888 | 2024 $60,281 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Franklin County's history
1998
A flash flood in March 1998 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A flash flood in June 1998 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 30,768. The 2020 Census counted 29,456, 96% of the peak. Census Bureau
2023
A flash flood in June 2023 did $6.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A flood in December 2023 did $1.7 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1970
33 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Franklin County, 20 of them for flooding. FEMA
Franklin County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Franklin County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Franklin County ranks 3rd of the five; Somerset County is highest, at 35.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset County, ME | 56 | 14.5% | 35.3% |
| Androscoggin County, ME | 47 | 12.0% | 26.9% |
| Oxford County, ME | 45 | 11.3% | 32.5% |
| Franklin County, ME | 34 | 13.3% | 31.1% |
| Kennebec County, ME | 28 | 11.2% | 25.5% |
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 Franklin County the poorest county in Maine?
No, Franklin County's poverty rate was 13.3% in 2024, 6th highest of 16 in Maine (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Washington County, at 16.2%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Franklin County ranks 9th of 16 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Franklin 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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Pine Tree Legal Assistance
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 Franklin 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 Franklin County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.