In Piscataquis County, Maine, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in four dollars of the typical household's income
In Piscataquis County, 26.1% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is higher than in 87% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 52% of U.S. counties.
What drives Piscataquis County's score
In Piscataquis County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 73.7. Unemployment averaged 5.2%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, higher than in 83% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 67.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Piscataquis 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.
Piscataquis County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (40, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (11.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 73.7 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202683rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.0% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
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- 67.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.0% · 202456th percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.7% · 202463rd percentile
- People with a disability20.9% · 2020 to 202484th percentile
- People without health insurance10.1% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,706 · 202465th percentile
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- 52.7 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 rent11.7% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income26.1% · fiscal year 202787th percentile
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- 39.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.9% · August 202524th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.7% · August 202556th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score37.0% · second quarter of 202637th percentile
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- 24.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.4% · August 202543rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people40 · 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 Piscataquis 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 Piscataquis County, 27.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Piscataquis County
Maine
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Piscataquis County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 35.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a quarter more than benefit checks
In Piscataquis County, Maine, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Piscataquis County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 19.9% in 2012 to 22.4% in 2013.
The share of households in Piscataquis County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 16.9% 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, Piscataquis County, Maine.
How Piscataquis County has changed
Piscataquis County's population rose 7% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979
High on the chart: 18,450 in 1989. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Piscataquis County, Maine.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Piscataquis County fell 13% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1990 to 1995, reaching 5,704. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Piscataquis County, Maine.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.4% | 2025 5.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.2% | 2024 14.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,743 | 2024 $61,706 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Piscataquis County's history
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 20,554. The 2020 Census counted 16,800, 82% of the peak. Census Bureau
2007
Lightning in August 2007 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1970
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Piscataquis County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Piscataquis County beside its neighbors
Of the three counties that border Piscataquis County, two score higher. Of the group, Piscataquis County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (35.8%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset County, ME | 56 | 14.5% | 35.3% |
| Aroostook County, ME | 54 | 14.9% | 35.3% |
| Piscataquis County, ME | 52 | 14.0% | 35.8% |
| Penobscot County, ME | 44 | 14.2% | 27.7% |
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 Piscataquis County the poorest county in Maine?
No, Piscataquis County's poverty rate was 14.0% in 2024, 5th 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, Piscataquis County ranks 4th of 16 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Piscataquis 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 Piscataquis 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 Piscataquis County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.