In Iosco County, Michigan, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2023
In 2024, 43 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 59% of U.S. counties.
What drives Iosco County's score
In Iosco County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 86.4. Unemployment averaged 7.4%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, higher than in 97% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 59.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Iosco 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.
Iosco County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (4.6%, 2020 to 2024) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (12.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 86.4 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year7.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202697th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.2% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
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- 59.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.4% · 202460th percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.4% · 202466th percentile
- People with a disability20.4% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
- People without health insurance4.6% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,092 · 202475th percentile
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- 54.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector20.3% · August 202539th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people181.3 · 202570th percentile
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- 43.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.8% · August 202555th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.3% · August 202519th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score41.3% · second quarter of 202653rd percentile
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- 36.3 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 rent12.1% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.0% · fiscal year 202753rd 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 Iosco 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 Iosco County, 31.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Iosco County
Michigan
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Iosco County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Michigan
In Iosco County, Michigan, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 42.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Iosco County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 15.7% in 2010 to 18.5% in 2011.
The share of households in Iosco County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 14.8%
Low on the chart: 13.6% 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, Iosco County, Michigan.
How Iosco County has changed
Iosco County's population had its largest drop, from 30,091 in 1989 to 24,440 in 1994.
Iosco County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and is down 16% since
High on the chart: 30,361 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Iosco County, Michigan.
The number of jobs located in Iosco County had its largest drop, from 7,926 in 2005 to 6,843 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Iosco County fell 9% from 1990 to 2025, with its low point on the chart in 2010
Low on the chart: 6,843 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Iosco County, Michigan.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.4% | 2025 8.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.2% | 2024 14.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,113 | 2024 $58,092 |
The table uses 8.2% for 2025; the score uses 7.4% 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 Iosco County's history
1840
1840 (as "Kanotin") 1857 organized. Wikipedia
1862
Gypsum mining operation with company town. Wikipedia
1862
Alabaster Historic District company town for gypsum mining. Wikipedia
1953
A tornado in June 1953 killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1990
The county's largest recorded population was the 1990 Census count of 30,209. The 2020 Census counted 25,237, 84% of the peak. Census Bureau
1991
A tornado in March 1991 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1991
A tornado in March 1991 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
A flood in May 2020 did $1.2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
11 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Iosco County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Iosco County beside its neighbors
Of the three counties that border Iosco County, one scores higher. Of the group, Iosco County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (42.8%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ogemaw County, MI | 73 | 15.7% | 42.5% |
| Iosco County, MI | 59 | 14.4% | 42.8% |
| Arenac County, MI | 58 | 11.7% | 39.7% |
| Alcona County, MI | 44 | 15.1% | 42.0% |
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 Iosco County the poorest county in Michigan?
No, Iosco County's poverty rate was 14.4% in 2024, 27th 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, Iosco County ranks 23rd of 83 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Iosco 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.
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 Iosco County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.