In Ontonagon County, Michigan, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2011
In 2024, 47 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
Less distressed than 55% of U.S. counties.
What drives Ontonagon County's score
In Ontonagon County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 74.9. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 18.4. People with a car or retail loan behind: 0.0%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Ontonagon 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, Ontonagon County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (7.0%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and people with a disability (22.0%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 74.9 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year7.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.5% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
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- 65.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.3% · 202459th percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.9% · 202467th percentile
- People with a disability22.0% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
- People without health insurance5.5% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$52,958 · 202486th percentile
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- 39.8 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 rent8.1% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.0% · fiscal year 202771st percentile
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- 36.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector16.8% · August 202525th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people118.5 · 202546th percentile
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- 18.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.6% · August 20257th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind0.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score38.2% · second quarter of 202642nd 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 Ontonagon 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 Ontonagon County, 38.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Ontonagon County
Michigan
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Ontonagon County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Michigan
In Ontonagon County, Michigan, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 47.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Ontonagon County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 10.2% in 2021 to 12.8% in 2022.
The share of households in Ontonagon County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 10.0% 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, Ontonagon County, Michigan.
How Ontonagon County has changed
Ontonagon County's population had its largest drop, from 8,723 in 1994 to 7,843 in 1999.
Ontonagon County's population fell 44% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 10,946 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Ontonagon County, Michigan.
The number of jobs located in Ontonagon County had its largest drop, from 3,280 in 1995 to 2,370 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Ontonagon County fell by more than half from 1990 to 2020, reaching 1,241, then turned up in 2025
High on the chart: 3,301 in 1990. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Ontonagon County, Michigan.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.5% | 2025 7.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.1% | 2024 14.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,399 | 2024 $52,958 |
The table uses 7.6% for 2025; the score uses 7.0% 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 Ontonagon County's history
1843
March 9, 1843 1848 organized. Wikipedia
1845
Copper mining from 1845 until the late 1960s. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 12,428. The 2020 Census counted 5,816, 47% of the peak. Census Bureau
1995
White Pine mine closed. Wikipedia
2010
Smurfit-Stone Container production facility closed. Wikipedia
2023
A flood in April 2023 did $8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
A flash flood in July 2025 did $1.6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
8 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Ontonagon County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Ontonagon County beside its neighbors
Of the three counties that border Ontonagon County, two score higher. Of the group, Ontonagon County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (47.4%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron County, MI | 57 | 14.2% | 43.1% |
| Gogebic County, MI | 55 | 17.5% | 40.1% |
| Ontonagon County, MI | 44 | 14.3% | 47.4% |
| 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 Ontonagon County the poorest county in Michigan?
No, Ontonagon County's poverty rate was 14.3% in 2024, 30th 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, Ontonagon County ranks 49th of 83 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Ontonagon 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 Ontonagon 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 Ontonagon County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.