About one in seven people with a credit file in Presque Isle County, Michigan, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Presque Isle County, 15.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 80% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 57% of U.S. counties.
What drives Presque Isle County's score
In Presque Isle County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 80.7. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 15.3. Bankruptcy filings ran at 52.7 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 89% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Presque Isle 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, Presque Isle County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (8.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and people with a disability (19.8%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.7 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year8.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.5% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
-
- 59.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.2% · 202449th percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.7% · 202474th percentile
- People with a disability19.8% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
- People without health insurance5.2% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$59,991 · 202470th percentile
-
- 50.9 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 rent19.1% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.3% · fiscal year 202745th percentile
-
- 23.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.2% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.9% · August 202545th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.6% · second quarter of 202618th percentile
-
- 15.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector15.2% · August 202519th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people52.7 · 202510th percentile
-
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 Presque Isle 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 Presque Isle County, 33.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Presque Isle County
Michigan
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Presque Isle County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 39.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Presque Isle County, Michigan, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 39.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Presque Isle County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 11.5% in 2012 to 13.3% in 2013.
The share of households in Presque Isle 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: 9.2% 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, Presque Isle County, Michigan.
How Presque Isle County has changed
Presque Isle County's population rose most sharply from its first year (12,567 in 1969) to 13,915 in 1974.
Presque Isle County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 14,521 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Presque Isle County, Michigan.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Presque Isle County fell by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 2,561, with most of the change between 2015 and 2020
High on the chart: 3,642 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Presque Isle County, Michigan.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 11.6% | 2025 9.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.5% | 2024 13.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,711 | 2024 $59,991 |
The table uses 9.7% for 2025; the score uses 8.7% 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 Presque Isle County's history
1840
1840 (created) 1871 (organized) 1875 (reorganized). Wikipedia
1869
German and Polish immigrants arrived and settled. Wikipedia
1907
Limestone found at Crawford's Quarry. Wikipedia
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 14,411. The 2020 Census counted 12,982, 90% of the peak. Census Bureau
2004
Hail in July 2004 did $3.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
Lightning in August 2016 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1977
7 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Presque Isle County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Presque Isle County beside its neighbors
All three counties that border Presque Isle County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Presque Isle County ranks 2nd of the four; Montmorency County is highest, at 51.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montmorency County, MI | 76 | 15.3% | 51.5% |
| Cheboygan County, MI | 48 | 12.5% | 32.6% |
| Alpena County, MI | 45 | 16.7% | 38.1% |
| Presque Isle County, MI | 42 | 13.2% | 39.8% |
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 Presque Isle County the poorest county in Michigan?
No, Presque Isle County's poverty rate was 13.2% in 2024, 40th 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, Presque Isle County ranks 52nd of 83 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Presque Isle 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.
-
Legal Services of Northern Michigan
Legal aid
-
Michigan Legal Help
Legal help website
-
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 Presque Isle 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 Presque Isle County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.