About one in six people with a credit file in Menominee County, Michigan, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Menominee 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 63% of U.S. counties.
What drives Menominee County's score
In Menominee County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 68.2. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 15.8. Bankruptcy filings ran at 43.6 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 92% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Menominee 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, Menominee County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (24.1%, 2020 to 2024) and median household income ($58,100, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 68.2 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 rent24.1% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.9% · fiscal year 202753rd percentile
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- 48.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202662nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.1% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
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- 48.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.0% · 202448th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.3% · 202450th percentile
- People with a disability16.6% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- People without health insurance4.1% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,100 · 202475th percentile
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- 31.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.0% · August 202524th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.9% · August 202531st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score37.0% · second quarter of 202636th percentile
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- 15.8 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 people43.6 · 20257th 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 Menominee 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 Menominee County, 26.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Menominee County
Michigan
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Menominee County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 31.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Menominee County, Michigan, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Menominee County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 11.7% in 2010 to 14.3% in 2011.
The share of households in Menominee County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 10.1%
Low on the chart: 8.7% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Menominee County, Michigan.
How Menominee County has changed
Menominee County's population had its largest rise, from 24,770 in 1974 to 26,579 in 1979.
Menominee County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1979 and is down 13% since
High on the chart: 26,579 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Menominee County, Michigan.
The number of jobs located in Menominee County had its largest drop, from 8,304 in 2005 to 7,142 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Menominee County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 9,161 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Menominee County, Michigan.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.8% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.4% | 2024 13.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,864 | 2024 $58,100 |
The table uses 4.7% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 Menominee County's history
1861
1861 (established) 1863 (organized). Wikipedia
1863
The county was created in 1861 from the area partitioned out of Delta County under the name of Bleeker, and when the county government was organized in 1863, the name was changed to Menominee. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 27,046. The 2020 Census counted 23,502, 87% of the peak. Census Bureau
1985
A tornado in June 1985 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1986
A tornado in July 1986 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
8 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Menominee County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Menominee County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Menominee County, in Michigan and Wisconsin, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Menominee County ranks 2nd of the five; Delta County is highest, at 35.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delta County, MI | 41 | 12.1% | 35.7% |
| Menominee County, MI | 36 | 13.0% | 31.9% |
| Marquette County, MI | 29 | 13.4% | 31.0% |
| Dickinson County, MI | 27 | 11.2% | 31.7% |
| Marinette County, WI | 19 | 11.8% | 31.9% |
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 Menominee County the poorest county in Michigan?
No, Menominee County's poverty rate was 13.0% in 2024, 42nd 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, Menominee County ranks 59th of 83 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Menominee 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 Menominee 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 Menominee County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.