About one in eight people with a credit file in Houghton County, Michigan, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Houghton County, 12.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 89% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 63% of U.S. counties.
What drives Houghton County's score
In Houghton County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 78.7. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 11.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Houghton 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, Houghton County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (26.9%, 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.
- 78.7 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent26.9% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.3% · fiscal year 202765th percentile
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- 64.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment 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 working19.9% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
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- 43.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.4% · 202477th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.1% · 202423rd percentile
- People with a disability11.6% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- People without health insurance5.1% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$55,547 · 202481st percentile
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- 12.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.2% · August 202513th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.3% · August 20256th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.8% · second quarter of 202618th percentile
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- 11.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.7% · August 202510th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people55.9 · 202512th 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 Houghton 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 Houghton County, 18.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Houghton County
Michigan
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Houghton County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 31.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Houghton County, Michigan, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Houghton County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 13.0% in 2010 to 15.1% in 2011.
The share of households in Houghton County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 9.7%
Low on the chart: 8.4% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Houghton County, Michigan.
How Houghton County has changed
Houghton County's population rose 12% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1969 and 1974
High on the chart: 38,125 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Houghton County, Michigan.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Houghton County rose by about a fifth from 1990 to 2025, reaching 12,476, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
High on the chart: 13,175 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Houghton County, Michigan.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.4% | 2025 5.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.9% | 2024 17.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,157 | 2024 $55,547 |
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 Houghton County's history
1843
1843 (set off) 1845 (boundaries described) 1846 (organized) 1848 (re-organized). Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 88,098. The 2020 Census counted 37,361, 42% of the peak. Census Bureau
2013
A flood in April 2013 did $2.9 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A flash flood in June 2018 did $100 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A flood in April 2023 did $18 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
A flash flood in July 2025 did $5.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
9 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Houghton County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Houghton County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Houghton County, three score higher. Of the group, Houghton County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Ontonagon County gets the largest, at 47.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron County, MI | 57 | 14.2% | 43.1% |
| Ontonagon County, MI | 44 | 14.3% | 47.4% |
| Keweenaw County, MI | 42 | 11.8% | 32.9% |
| Houghton County, MI | 36 | 17.4% | 31.5% |
| Baraga County, MI | 35 | 14.6% | 35.9% |
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 Houghton County the poorest county in Michigan?
No, Houghton County's poverty rate was 17.4% in 2024, 10th 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, Houghton County ranks 60th of 83 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Houghton 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 Houghton 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 Houghton County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.