About one in six people with a credit file in Mackinac County, Michigan, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Mackinac County, 16.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 76% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 60% of U.S. counties.
What drives Mackinac County's score
In Mackinac County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 87.0. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 14.8. People with a car or retail loan behind: 2.1%, August 2025, lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Mackinac 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, Mackinac County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (10.8%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and people with a disability (20.2%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 87.0 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year10.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working26.3% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
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- 63.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.0% · 202440th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.5% · 202458th percentile
- People with a disability20.2% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- People without health insurance10.3% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,831 · 202468th percentile
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- 38.8 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 rent13.7% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.8% · fiscal year 202751st percentile
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- 16.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector16.4% · August 202524th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people46.1 · 20258th percentile
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- 14.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.4% · August 202515th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.1% · August 20255th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score33.2% · second quarter of 202623rd 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 Mackinac 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 Mackinac County, 29.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Mackinac County
Michigan
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Mackinac County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 32.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Mackinac County, Michigan, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Mackinac County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (7.2% in 2009) to 9.4% in 2010.
The share of households in Mackinac County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 11.9%
Low on the chart: 7.2% 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, Mackinac County, Michigan.
How Mackinac County has changed
Mackinac County's population had its largest rise, from 9,652 in 1969 to 10,301 in 1974.
Mackinac County's population rose 15% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 11,848 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Mackinac County, Michigan.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Mackinac County rose 28% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 5,104 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Mackinac County, Michigan.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 14.1% | 2025 10.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.3% | 2024 12.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,939 | 2024 $60,831 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Mackinac County's history
1681
Fort de Buade fur trading post established 1681, closed 1697. Wikipedia
1818
October 26, 1818 organized 1849. Wikipedia
1849
Reorganized as Mackinac County in 1849. Wikipedia
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 11,943. The 2020 Census counted 10,834, 91% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
7 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Mackinac County. FEMA
Mackinac County beside its neighbors
Of the three counties that border Mackinac County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Mackinac County ranks 3rd of the four; Luce County is highest, at 44.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luce County, MI | 62 | 19.4% | 44.5% |
| Schoolcraft County, MI | 40 | 13.8% | 42.3% |
| Mackinac County, MI | 39 | 12.0% | 32.0% |
| Chippewa County, MI | 35 | 14.4% | 31.4% |
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 Mackinac County the poorest county in Michigan?
No, Mackinac County's poverty rate was 12.0% in 2024, 51st 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, Mackinac County ranks 57th of 83 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Mackinac 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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H.o.m.e. of Mackinac County
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Mackinac 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 Mackinac County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.