About one in nine people in Waldo County, Maine, lives below the poverty line
In Waldo County, 11.1% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 68% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 64% of U.S. counties.
What drives Waldo County's score
In Waldo County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 55.4. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 23.8. Bankruptcy filings ran at 36.9 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Waldo 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, Waldo County is worse off than most counties on rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (24.2%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 55.4 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 rent15.0% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.2% · fiscal year 202779th percentile
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- 47.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.1% · 202431st percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.1% · 202439th percentile
- People with a disability16.8% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- People without health insurance9.2% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$67,854 · 202446th percentile
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- 40.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202638th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.5% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
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- 39.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.9% · August 202539th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.3% · August 202552nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score34.1% · second quarter of 202626th percentile
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- 23.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.2% · August 202542nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people36.9 · 20254th 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 Waldo 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 Waldo County, 25.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Waldo County
Maine
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Waldo County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 28.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Waldo County, Maine, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Waldo County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 17.3% in 2017 to 14.5% in 2018.
The share of households in Waldo 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: 12.0% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Waldo County, Maine.
How Waldo County has changed
Waldo County's population had its largest rise, from 25,508 in 1974 to 28,573 in 1979.
Waldo County's population nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 40,617, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 38,941. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Waldo County, Maine.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Waldo County nearly doubled to 11,300, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 10,993. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Waldo County, Maine.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.3% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.3% | 2024 11.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,424 | 2024 $67,854 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Waldo County's history
1827
Created on February 7, 1827, from a portion of Hancock County. Wikipedia
1900
Wooden ship construction faded by 1900. Wikipedia
1975
Poultry business collapsed mid-1970s. Wikipedia
2007
A flood in April 2007 did $1.1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 39,607, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1970
28 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Waldo County, 19 of them for flooding. FEMA
Waldo County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Waldo County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Waldo County ranks 2nd of the seven; Somerset County is highest, at 35.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset County, ME | 56 | 14.5% | 35.3% |
| Penobscot County, ME | 44 | 14.2% | 27.7% |
| Waldo County, ME | 35 | 11.1% | 28.3% |
| Hancock County, ME | 30 | 10.3% | 22.8% |
| Kennebec County, ME | 28 | 11.2% | 25.5% |
| 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 Waldo County the poorest county in Maine?
No, Waldo County's poverty rate was 11.1% in 2024, 10th 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, Waldo County ranks 8th of 16 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Waldo 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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Waldo Community Action Partners
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Waldo County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.