In Gogebic County, Michigan, benefit checks brought in more money than paychecks in 2024
In 2024, 40 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 55% of U.S. counties.
What drives Gogebic County's score
In Gogebic County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 70.1. Unemployment averaged 6.0%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, higher than in 93% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 68.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Gogebic 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.
Gogebic County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (5.1%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a credit card behind (4.1%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 70.1 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202693rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.2% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
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- 68.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.5% · 202478th percentile
- Children below the poverty line25.6% · 202483rd percentile
- People with a disability19.1% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- People without health insurance5.1% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$53,013 · 202486th percentile
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- 55.0 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 rent16.3% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.0% · fiscal year 202770th percentile
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- 38.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.1% · August 202526th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.6% · August 202541st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.3% · second quarter of 202646th percentile
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- 35.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.4% · August 202543rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people84.4 · 202527th 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 Gogebic 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 Gogebic County, 29.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Gogebic County
Michigan
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Gogebic County, benefit checks overtook pay in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Michigan
In Gogebic County, Michigan, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 40.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Gogebic County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half to 18.6%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2022 to 2023, reaching 16.7%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Gogebic County, Michigan.
How Gogebic County has changed
Gogebic County's population had its largest drop, from 15,964 in 2014 to 14,424 in 2019.
Gogebic County's population fell 30% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 21,147 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Gogebic County, Michigan.
The number of jobs located in Gogebic County had its largest rise, from 5,200 in 1990 to 6,152 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Gogebic County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 6,501 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Gogebic County, Michigan.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.2% | 2025 6.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.3% | 2024 17.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,567 | 2024 $53,013 |
The table uses 6.4% for 2025; the score uses 6.0% 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 Gogebic County's history
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 33,225. The 2020 Census counted 14,380, 43% of the peak. Census Bureau
1998
A thunderstorm in August 1998 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
Lightning in June 2006 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in July 2016 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A flood in April 2023 did $20 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
9 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Gogebic County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Gogebic County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Gogebic County, in Michigan and Wisconsin, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Gogebic County ranks 3rd of the five; Ontonagon County is highest, at 47.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron County, MI | 57 | 14.2% | 43.1% |
| Gogebic County, MI | 55 | 17.5% | 40.1% |
| Ontonagon County, MI | 44 | 14.3% | 47.4% |
| Iron County, WI | 31 | 11.9% | 33.9% |
| Vilas County, WI | 12 | 10.4% | 27.9% |
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 Gogebic County the poorest county in Michigan?
No, Gogebic County's poverty rate was 17.5% in 2024, 9th 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, Gogebic County ranks 29th of 83 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Gogebic 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 Gogebic 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 Gogebic County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.