About one in five people with a credit file in Oceana County, Michigan, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Oceana County, 20.8% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 59% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 56% of U.S. counties.
What drives Oceana County's score
In Oceana County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 82.0. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 24.9. Bankruptcy filings ran at 48.2 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 91% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Oceana 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, Oceana County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (6.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 82.0 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202696th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.8% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
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- 61.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.5% · 202460th percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.3% · 202465th percentile
- People with a disability17.9% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- People without health insurance7.5% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,449 · 202469th percentile
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- 34.8 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 rent13.8% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.1% · fiscal year 202743rd percentile
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- 26.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.9% · August 20259th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.2% · August 202535th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score36.2% · second quarter of 202634th percentile
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- 24.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector20.8% · August 202541st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people48.2 · 20258th 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 Oceana 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 Oceana County, 22.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Oceana County
Michigan
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Oceana County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 22.6% in 2004 to 32.6% in 2009.
In Oceana County, benefit checks' share of income has more than 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 Oceana County, Michigan, benefit checks' share of income more than 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 Oceana County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 15.7% in 2018 to 13.5% in 2019.
The share of households in Oceana County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 13.1% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Oceana County, Michigan.
How Oceana County has changed
Oceana County's population had its largest rise, from 16,991 in 1969 to 20,360 in 1974.
Oceana County's population rose by more than half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27,014
High on the chart: 27,556 in 2004. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Oceana County, Michigan.
The number of jobs located in Oceana County rose most sharply from its first year (5,098 in 1990) to 6,451 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Oceana County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 18% since
High on the chart: 7,921 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Oceana County, Michigan.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.9% | 2025 7.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.6% | 2024 14.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,349 | 2024 $60,449 |
The table uses 7.4% for 2025; the score uses 6.7% 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 Oceana County's history
1840
1840 (created) 1855 (organized). Wikipedia
1855
The State of Michigan created the county of Oceana on April 1, 1840, and the county was organized in 1855. Wikipedia
1998
A thunderstorm in May 1998 did $4.02 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 26,873. The 2020 Census counted 26,659, 99% of the peak. Census Bureau
2013
A flood in April 2013 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1975
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Oceana County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Oceana County beside its neighbors
Of the three counties that border Oceana County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Oceana County ranks 2nd of the four; Mason County is highest, at 34.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muskegon County, MI | 74 | 16.8% | 29.7% |
| Newaygo County, MI | 46 | 11.7% | 29.2% |
| Oceana County, MI | 43 | 14.5% | 32.0% |
| Mason County, MI | 39 | 11.7% | 34.8% |
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 Oceana County the poorest county in Michigan?
No, Oceana County's poverty rate was 14.5% in 2024, 25th 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, Oceana County ranks 51st of 83 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Oceana 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 Aid of Western Michigan
Legal aid
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Counsel & Advocacy Law Line (Lakeshore Legal Aid)
Legal aid
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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 Oceana 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 Oceana County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.