About one in seven people with a credit file in Marquette County, Michigan, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Marquette County, 14.9% 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 70% of U.S. counties.
What drives Marquette County's score
In Marquette County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 74.4. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 11.8. Bankruptcy filings ran at 37.3 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Marquette 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, Marquette County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (26.4%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.3%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 74.4 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent26.4% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.5% · fiscal year 202758th percentile
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- 57.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202686th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.4% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
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- 33.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.4% · 202451st percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.3% · 202414th percentile
- People with a disability15.5% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- People without health insurance3.4% · 2020 to 20244th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$67,030 · 202449th percentile
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- 13.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.2% · August 202513th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.4% · August 20257th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.8% · second quarter of 202619th percentile
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- 11.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.9% · August 202518th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people37.3 · 20255th 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 Marquette 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 Marquette County, 20.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Marquette County
Michigan
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Marquette County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 31.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Marquette County, Michigan, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Marquette County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (8.8% in 2009) to 10.3% in 2010.
The share of households in Marquette County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 8.8% 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, Marquette County, Michigan.
How Marquette County has changed
Marquette County's population rose most sharply from its first year (62,937 in 1969) to 70,230 in 1974.
Marquette County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1979 and is down 10% since
High on the chart: 75,580 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Marquette County, Michigan.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Marquette County rose 12% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
High on the chart: 27,979 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Marquette County, Michigan.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.0% | 2025 5.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.9% | 2024 13.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,201 | 2024 $67,030 |
The table uses 5.8% for 2025; the score uses 5.3% 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 Marquette County's history
1843
March 9, 1843, organized 1851. Wikipedia
1844
Iron deposits discovered near Teal Lake west of Marquette 1844. Wikipedia
1851
Marquette County was set off in 1843 and organized in 1851. Wikipedia
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 74,101. The 2020 Census counted 66,017, 89% of the peak. Census Bureau
1988
A thunderstorm in August 1988 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1995
K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base hosted B-52H bombers and Strategic Air Command, closed 1995. Wikipedia
2007
Hail in June 2007 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
Hail in June 2007 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
Hail in June 2007 did $8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
10 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Marquette County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Marquette County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Marquette County, five score higher. Of the group, Marquette County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Iron County gets the largest, at 43.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron County, MI | 57 | 14.2% | 43.1% |
| Delta County, MI | 41 | 12.1% | 35.7% |
| Menominee County, MI | 36 | 13.0% | 31.9% |
| Baraga County, MI | 35 | 14.6% | 35.9% |
| Alger County, MI | 30 | 12.2% | 37.8% |
| Marquette County, MI | 29 | 13.4% | 31.0% |
| Dickinson County, MI | 27 | 11.2% | 31.7% |
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 Marquette County the poorest county in Michigan?
No, Marquette County's poverty rate was 13.4% in 2024, 38th 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, Marquette County ranks 69th of 83 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Marquette 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 Marquette 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 Marquette County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.