About one in six people with a credit file in Alpena County, Michigan, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Alpena County, 17.3% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 73% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 54% of U.S. counties.
What drives Alpena County's score
In Alpena County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 75.9. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 19.7. Bankruptcy filings ran at 55.4 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 88% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Alpena 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, Alpena County is worse off than most counties on people with a disability (22.1%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.2%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 75.9 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 202684th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.8% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
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- 66.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.7% · 202474th percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.1% · 202472nd percentile
- People with a disability22.1% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
- People without health insurance5.2% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$57,827 · 202476th percentile
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- 43.1 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 rent15.1% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.0% · fiscal year 202754th percentile
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- 29.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.7% · August 202522nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.7% · August 202542nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score33.6% · second quarter of 202624th percentile
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- 19.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.3% · August 202527th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people55.4 · 202511th 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 Alpena 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 Alpena County, 25.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Alpena County
Michigan
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Alpena County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 38.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a quarter more than benefit checks
In Alpena County, Michigan, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 38.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Alpena County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 14.8% in 2010 to 18.1% in 2011.
The share of households in Alpena County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 13.5% 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, Alpena County, Michigan.
How Alpena County has changed
Alpena County's population had its largest rise, from 30,363 in 1969 to 31,757 in 1974.
Alpena County's population fell 5% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 32,312 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Alpena County, Michigan.
The number of jobs located in Alpena County had its largest rise in the last span, from 10,736 in 2020 to 12,115 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Alpena County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 8% since
High on the chart: 13,124 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Alpena County, Michigan.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.2% | 2025 5.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.4% | 2024 16.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,121 | 2024 $57,827 |
The table uses 5.7% for 2025; the score uses 5.2% 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 Alpena County's history
1871
Great Michigan Fire 1871 destroyed most of city. Wikipedia
1888
Major fire July 1888. Wikipedia
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 32,315. The 2020 Census counted 28,907, 89% of the peak. Census Bureau
2022
Alpena Mall largely closed 2022. Wikipedia
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Since 1977
7 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Alpena County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Alpena County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Alpena County, two score higher. Of the group, Alpena County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Montmorency County gets the largest, at 51.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oscoda County, MI | 83 | 16.5% | 44.0% |
| Montmorency County, MI | 76 | 15.3% | 51.5% |
| Alpena County, MI | 45 | 16.7% | 38.1% |
| Alcona County, MI | 44 | 15.1% | 42.0% |
| Presque Isle County, MI | 42 | 13.2% | 39.8% |
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 Alpena County the poorest county in Michigan?
No, Alpena County's poverty rate was 16.7% in 2024, 14th 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, Alpena County ranks 48th of 83 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Alpena 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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Northeast Michigan Community Service Agency, Inc.
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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.
Download the CSV for Alpena 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 Alpena County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.