About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Charlevoix County, Michigan, have a job
In Charlevoix County, 14.4% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 86% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Charlevoix County's score
In Charlevoix County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 44.7. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 16.5. Bankruptcy filings ran at 49.7 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 90% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Charlevoix 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, Charlevoix County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (4.8%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 44.7 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202675th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.4% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
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- 36.0 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 rent16.9% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.8% · fiscal year 202729th percentile
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- 31.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.9% · 202421st percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.7% · 202426th percentile
- People with a disability14.8% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
- People without health insurance6.2% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$71,544 · 202437th percentile
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- 22.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.6% · August 202520th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.9% · August 202530th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score30.9% · second quarter of 202615th percentile
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- 16.5 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 people49.7 · 20259th 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 Charlevoix 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 Charlevoix County, 27.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Charlevoix County
Michigan
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Charlevoix County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 22.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Charlevoix County, Michigan, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Charlevoix County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 10.9% in 2011 to 12.4% in 2012.
The share of households in Charlevoix County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 7.2% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Charlevoix County, Michigan.
How Charlevoix County has changed
Charlevoix County's population had its largest rise, from 23,463 in 1994 to 25,806 in 1999.
Charlevoix County's population rose by more than half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26,105
High on the chart: 26,601 in 2004. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Charlevoix County, Michigan.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Charlevoix County rose 44% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 9,560. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Charlevoix County, Michigan.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.3% | 2025 5.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.3% | 2024 9.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,658 | 2024 $71,544 |
The table uses 5.2% for 2025; the score uses 4.8% 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 Charlevoix County's history
1840
1840 (created) 1869 (organized). Wikipedia
1853
Gunfight between Charlevoix residents and Strangite Mormons in 1853 over jury duty. Wikipedia
1862
Homestead Act of 1862 brought Civil War veterans and speculators to Northern Michigan. Wikipedia
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 26,090. The 2020 Census counted 26,054, 100% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
8 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Charlevoix County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Charlevoix County beside its neighbors
All four counties that border Charlevoix County score higher than it does. Of the group, Charlevoix County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Cheboygan County gets the largest, at 32.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheboygan County, MI | 48 | 12.5% | 32.6% |
| Otsego County, MI | 45 | 8.5% | 28.2% |
| Antrim County, MI | 22 | 10.7% | 29.4% |
| Emmet County, MI | 19 | 8.4% | 22.4% |
| Charlevoix County, MI | 17 | 9.9% | 22.2% |
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 Charlevoix County the poorest county in Michigan?
No, Charlevoix County's poverty rate was 9.9% in 2024, 66th 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, Charlevoix County ranks 77th of 83 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Charlevoix 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 Charlevoix 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 Charlevoix County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.