About one in seven people with a credit file in Knox County, Maine, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Knox County, 14.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 82% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 83% of U.S. counties.
What drives Knox County's score
In Knox County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 74.9. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 10.8. People with a credit card behind: 2.6%, August 2025, lower than in 92% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Knox 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, Knox County is worse off than most counties on rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (24.7%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 74.9 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 rent21.1% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.7% · fiscal year 202782nd percentile
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- 26.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202621st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.8% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
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- 24.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.9% · 202421st percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.2% · 202418th percentile
- People with a disability13.0% · 2020 to 202422nd percentile
- People without health insurance5.5% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$73,005 · 202433rd percentile
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- 11.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.7% · August 202517th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people36.6 · 20254th percentile
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- 10.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.6% · August 20257th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.9% · August 202512th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.8% · second quarter of 202612th 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 Knox 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 Knox County, 27.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Knox County
Maine
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Knox County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 23.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Knox County, Maine, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.5%; 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 Knox County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen to 8.5%
Biggest drop: 2017 to 2018, reaching 10.7%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Knox County, Maine.
How Knox County has changed
Knox County's population rose 42% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 31,546. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Knox County, Maine.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Knox County rose by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 17,014, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 17,680 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Knox County, Maine.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.2% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.0% | 2024 9.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,460 | 2024 $73,005 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Knox County's history
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 40,607, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2021
A flood in October 2021 did $1,500,000 in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1970
31 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Knox County, 19 of them for flooding. FEMA
Knox County beside its neighbors
Of the two counties that border Knox County, one scores higher. Of the group, Knox County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Waldo County gets the largest, at 28.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waldo County, ME | 35 | 11.1% | 28.3% |
| Knox County, ME | 16 | 9.9% | 23.5% |
| Lincoln County, ME | 10 | 9.9% | 23.9% |
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 Knox County the poorest county in Maine?
No, Knox County's poverty rate was 9.9% in 2024, 12th 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, Knox County ranks 12th of 16 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Knox 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.
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 Knox County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.