Unemployment in Kalkaska County, Michigan, is higher than in 88% of U.S. counties
In Kalkaska County, 5.5% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is higher than in 88% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 53% of U.S. counties.
What drives Kalkaska County's score
In Kalkaska County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 69.9. Late payments on loans come next, at 58.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Kalkaska 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.
Kalkaska County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (17.0%, fiscal year 2027) and people below the poverty line (11.1%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 69.9 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202688th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.9% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
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- 58.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.1% · August 202574th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.8% · August 202558th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score38.0% · second quarter of 202641st percentile
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- 52.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.8% · August 202552nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people129.8 · 202551st percentile
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- 44.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.1% · 202431st percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.7% · 202447th percentile
- People with a disability18.7% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- People without health insurance6.1% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$71,627 · 202436th percentile
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- 35.8 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 rent19.5% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.0% · fiscal year 202713th 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 Kalkaska 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 Kalkaska County, 21.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Kalkaska County
Michigan
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Kalkaska County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 32.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Kalkaska County, Michigan, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Kalkaska County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 16.2% in 2009 to 18.6% in 2010.
The share of households in Kalkaska County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 14.0% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Kalkaska County, Michigan.
How Kalkaska County has changed
Kalkaska County's population more than tripled to 18,618, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 10,717. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Kalkaska County, Michigan.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Kalkaska County rose 37% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 4,621. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Kalkaska County, Michigan.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.8% | 2025 6.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.7% | 2024 11.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,243 | 2024 $71,627 |
The table uses 6.1% for 2025; the score uses 5.5% 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 Kalkaska County's history
1840
1840 (established) 1871 (organized). Wikipedia
2007
A tornado in October 2007 did $1.1 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 17,939, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
7 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Kalkaska County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Kalkaska County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Kalkaska County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Kalkaska County ranks 2nd of the five; Crawford County is highest, at 38.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crawford County, MI | 70 | 14.4% | 38.7% |
| Kalkaska County, MI | 53 | 11.1% | 32.5% |
| Missaukee County, MI | 48 | 12.1% | 31.2% |
| Antrim County, MI | 22 | 10.7% | 29.4% |
| Grand Traverse County, MI | 16 | 8.4% | 20.2% |
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 Kalkaska County the poorest county in Michigan?
No, Kalkaska County's poverty rate was 11.1% in 2024, 61st 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, Kalkaska County ranks 31st of 83 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Kalkaska 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 Kalkaska 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 Kalkaska County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.