About one in six people with a credit file in Delta County, Michigan, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Delta County, 17.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 72% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 58% of U.S. counties.
What drives Delta County's score
In Delta County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 82.2. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 20.7. Bankruptcy filings ran at 57.1 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 86% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Delta 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, Delta County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.9%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 82.2 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202691st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.7% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
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- 51.9 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 rent19.4% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.3% · fiscal year 202746th percentile
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- 45.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.1% · 202440th percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.3% · 202440th percentile
- People with a disability17.1% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- People without health insurance4.8% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$59,827 · 202471st percentile
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- 23.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.4% · August 202531st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.0% · August 20255th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.7% · second quarter of 202632nd percentile
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- 20.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.4% · August 202528th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people57.1 · 202513th 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 Delta 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 Delta County, 26.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Delta County
Michigan
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Delta County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 38% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Delta County, Michigan, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Delta County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (10.4% in 2009) to 12.4% in 2010.
The share of households in Delta County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 12.4%
Low on the chart: 10.4% 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, Delta County, Michigan.
How Delta County has changed
Delta County's population rose 4% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1969 and 1974
High on the chart: 39,157 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Delta County, Michigan.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Delta County rose 9% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 14,859 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Delta County, Michigan.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.3% | 2025 6.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.8% | 2024 12.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,633 | 2024 $59,827 |
The table uses 6.5% for 2025; the score uses 5.9% 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 Delta County's history
1843
March 9, 1843 (authorized) 1861 (organized). Wikipedia
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 38,947. The 2020 Census counted 36,903, 95% of the peak. Census Bureau
1992
A tornado in July 1992 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
6 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Delta County. FEMA
Delta County beside its neighbors
Delta County scores higher than all four counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Delta County ranks 3rd of the five; Schoolcraft County is highest, at 42.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delta County, MI | 41 | 12.1% | 35.7% |
| Schoolcraft County, MI | 40 | 13.8% | 42.3% |
| Menominee County, MI | 36 | 13.0% | 31.9% |
| 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 Delta County the poorest county in Michigan?
No, Delta County's poverty rate was 12.1% in 2024, 49th 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, Delta County ranks 55th of 83 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Delta 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, 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.
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 Delta County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.