About one in six people with a credit file in Alger County, Michigan, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Alger County, 16.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 77% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 69% of U.S. counties.
What drives Alger County's score
In Alger County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 80.2. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 14.2. Bankruptcy filings ran at 22.8 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 Alger 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, Alger County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (7.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and people with a disability (20.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.2 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year7.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.3% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
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- 45.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.2% · 202441st percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.0% · 202433rd percentile
- People with a disability20.5% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
- People without health insurance4.3% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$63,959 · 202458th percentile
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- 29.3 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 rent11.4% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.0% · fiscal year 202742nd percentile
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- 24.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.7% · August 202553rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.8% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score30.9% · second quarter of 202615th percentile
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- 14.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector16.2% · August 202523rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people22.8 · 20255th or lower 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 Alger 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 Alger County, 27.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Alger County
Michigan
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Alger County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 16% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Alger County, Michigan, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 37.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Alger County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 10.2% in 2019 to 12.4% in 2020.
The share of households in Alger 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: 9.5% 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, Alger County, Michigan.
How Alger County has changed
Alger County's population had its largest rise, from 8,905 in 1989 to 9,818 in 1994.
Alger County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 13% since
High on the chart: 9,945 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Alger County, Michigan.
The number of jobs located in Alger County had its largest rise, from 2,314 in 1990 to 2,948 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Alger County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 14% since
High on the chart: 3,117 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Alger County, Michigan.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.2% | 2025 8.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.2% | 2024 12.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,766 | 2024 $63,959 |
The table uses 8.5% for 2025; the score uses 7.7% 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 Alger County's history
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 10,167. The 2020 Census counted 8,842, 87% of the peak. Census Bureau
1998
Lightning in June 1998 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A flood in May 2023 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
5 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Alger County. FEMA
Alger County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Alger County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Alger County ranks 3rd of the five; Luce County is highest, at 44.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luce County, MI | 62 | 19.4% | 44.5% |
| Delta County, MI | 41 | 12.1% | 35.7% |
| Schoolcraft County, MI | 40 | 13.8% | 42.3% |
| Alger County, MI | 30 | 12.2% | 37.8% |
| Marquette County, MI | 29 | 13.4% | 31.0% |
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 Alger County the poorest county in Michigan?
No, Alger County's poverty rate was 12.2% in 2024, 48th highest of 83 in Michigan (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Lake County, at 24.2%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Alger County ranks 67th of 83 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Alger 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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Legal Services of Northern Michigan
Legal aid
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Michigan Legal Help
Legal help website
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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 Alger County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.