About one in seven people with a credit file in Keweenaw County, Michigan, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Keweenaw County, 14.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 82% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 57% of U.S. counties.
What drives Keweenaw County's score
In Keweenaw County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 82.1. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 23.2. About three in ten people (27.7%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a lower share than in 92% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Keweenaw 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, Keweenaw County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (6.6%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 82.1 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.1% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
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- 53.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.8% · 202438th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.5% · 202430th percentile
- People with a disability18.0% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- People without health insurance8.7% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,613 · 202474th percentile
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- 37.2 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 rent13.2% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.8% · fiscal year 202751st percentile
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- 30.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.7% · August 202517th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 peoplenot published for this county; scored at the state median · 202543rd percentile
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- 23.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.9% · August 202524th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202537th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score27.7% · second quarter of 20267th 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 Keweenaw 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 Keweenaw County, 36.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Keweenaw County
Michigan
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Keweenaw County fell most sharply after its 1984 high, from 35.2% in 1984 to 29.2% in 1989.
In Keweenaw County, benefit checks' share of income has risen by more than half since 1969, reaching 32.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a third more than benefit checks
In Keweenaw County, Michigan, benefit checks' share of income rose by more than half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Keweenaw County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 8.0% in 2019 to 4.7% in 2020.
The share of households in Keweenaw County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 4.7% 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, Keweenaw County, Michigan.
How Keweenaw County has changed
Keweenaw County's population made its largest gain on the way to its 1999 high, from 1,906 in 1994 to 2,247 in 1999.
Keweenaw County's population fell to its lowest on the chart in 1989, then climbed past the 1969 level
Low on the chart: 1,731 in 1989. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Keweenaw County, Michigan.
The number of jobs located in Keweenaw County rose most sharply from its first year (290 in 1990) to 472 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Keweenaw County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 636 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Keweenaw County, Michigan.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 14.7% | 2025 6.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.5% | 2024 11.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,263 | 2024 $58,613 |
The table uses 6.7% for 2025; the score uses 6.6% 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 Keweenaw County's history
1845
Copper mining discovery and operations. Wikipedia
1870
Copper mining decline. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 7,156. The 2020 Census counted 2,046, 29% of the peak. Census Bureau
2023
A flood in April 2023 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1978
5 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Keweenaw County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Keweenaw County beside its neighbors
Keweenaw County scores higher than all one counties that border it.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keweenaw County, MI | 42 | 11.8% | 32.9% |
| Houghton County, MI | 36 | 17.4% | 31.5% |
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 Keweenaw County the poorest county in Michigan?
No, Keweenaw County's poverty rate was 11.8% in 2024, 52nd 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, Keweenaw County ranks 54th of 83 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Keweenaw 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 Keweenaw 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 Keweenaw County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.