About one in eight people with a credit file in Benzie County, Michigan, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Benzie County, 13.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 88% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 73% of U.S. counties.
What drives Benzie County's score
In Benzie County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 58.2. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 17.1. People with a credit card behind: 2.7%, August 2025, lower than in 91% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Benzie 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, Benzie County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.1%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (22.8%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 58.2 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202683rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.9% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
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- 56.5 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 rent22.8% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.4% · fiscal year 202736th percentile
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- 32.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.2% · 202416th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.2% · 202428th percentile
- People with a disability17.6% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- People without health insurance5.6% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$76,215 · 202427th percentile
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- 17.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.1% · August 202511th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people75.9 · 202522nd percentile
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- 17.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.7% · August 20258th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.5% · August 202523rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score32.0% · second quarter of 202619th 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 Benzie 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 Benzie County, 28.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Benzie County
Michigan
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Benzie County had its largest rise, from 20.3% in 2004 to 28.5% in 2009.
In Benzie County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 26.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Benzie County, Michigan, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Benzie County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 10.8% in 2011 to 12.6% in 2012; 9.1% in 2017 to 7.3% in 2018.
The share of households in Benzie County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 7.8%
Low on the chart: 6.4% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Benzie County, Michigan.
How Benzie County has changed
Benzie County's population more than doubled to 18,520, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 15,652. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Benzie County, Michigan.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Benzie County nearly doubled to 5,028, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 5,028. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Benzie County, Michigan.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 11.7% | 2025 5.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.6% | 2024 9.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,722 | 2024 $76,215 |
The table uses 5.7% for 2025; the score uses 5.1% 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 Benzie County's history
1863
1863 (created) 1869 (organized). Wikipedia
1956
A tornado in April 1956 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 17,970, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
6 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Benzie County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Benzie County beside its neighbors
Of the three counties that border Benzie County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Benzie County ranks 2nd of the four; Manistee County is highest, at 37.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manistee County, MI | 51 | 13.7% | 37.6% |
| Benzie County, MI | 26 | 9.2% | 26.2% |
| Grand Traverse County, MI | 16 | 8.4% | 20.2% |
| Leelanau County, MI | 5 | 6.5% | 17.7% |
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 Benzie County the poorest county in Michigan?
No, Benzie County's poverty rate was 9.2% in 2024, 70th 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, Benzie County ranks 73rd of 83 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Benzie 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.
Download the CSV for Benzie 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 Benzie County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.