In Iron County, Michigan, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2020
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 57% of U.S. counties.
What drives Iron County's score
In Iron County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 81.3. Unemployment averaged 7.3%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 63.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Iron 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.
Iron County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a car or retail loan behind (1.4%, August 2025) and people with a credit card behind (3.1%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.3 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year7.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.8% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
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- 63.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.2% · 202458th percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.1% · 202465th percentile
- People with a disability22.9% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
- People without health insurance5.0% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$53,519 · 202485th percentile
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- 58.9 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 rent15.2% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.4% · fiscal year 202785th percentile
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- 52.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.3% · August 202550th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people136.3 · 202554th percentile
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- 16.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.1% · August 202512th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.4% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.3% · second quarter of 202630th 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 Iron 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 Iron County, 31.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Iron County
Michigan
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Iron County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Michigan
In Iron County, Michigan, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 43.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Iron County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 9.8% in 2022 to 12.9% in 2023.
The share of households in Iron County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 13.3%
Low on the chart: 9.4% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Iron County, Michigan.
How Iron County has changed
Iron County's population had its largest drop, from 13,964 in 1984 to 13,144 in 1989.
Iron County's population fell 15% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 14,013 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Iron County, Michigan.
The number of jobs located in Iron County fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 3,755 in 2015 to 3,335 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Iron County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 13% since
High on the chart: 3,857 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Iron County, Michigan.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.9% | 2025 8.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.7% | 2024 14.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,163 | 2024 $53,519 |
The table uses 8.1% for 2025; the score uses 7.3% 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 Iron County's history
1885
Iron ore extraction. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 22,107. The 2020 Census counted 11,631, 53% of the peak. Census Bureau
2000
Hail in June 2000 did $4.1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
A flash flood in July 2020 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A flood in April 2023 did $3.1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
7 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Iron County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Iron County beside its neighbors
Iron County scores higher than all nine counties that border it, in Michigan and Wisconsin. For the share of income from benefit checks, Iron County ranks 2nd of the 10; 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% |
| Forest County, WI | 44 | 15.7% | 33.8% |
| Ontonagon County, MI | 44 | 14.3% | 47.4% |
| Houghton County, MI | 36 | 17.4% | 31.5% |
| Baraga County, MI | 35 | 14.6% | 35.9% |
| Marquette County, MI | 29 | 13.4% | 31.0% |
| Dickinson County, MI | 27 | 11.2% | 31.7% |
| Vilas County, WI | 12 | 10.4% | 27.9% |
| Florence County, WI | 8 | 10.2% | 26.5% |
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 Iron County the poorest county in Michigan?
No, Iron County's poverty rate was 14.2% in 2024, 31st 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, Iron County ranks 25th of 83 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Iron 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 Iron County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.