County Data

Minnesota County Distress Index

Financial distress scores for all 87 counties in Minnesota, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 32.3.

Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26

Minnesota Snapshot

87 Counties Scored
32.3 Mean Score
32.0 Median Score
48.0 Mahnomen County Most Distressed
18.0 Murray County Least Distressed
28 Normal 59 Healthy
Zone Distribution

Minnesota County Map

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Healthy Normal Elevated Serious Crisis

All 87 Minnesota counties colored by distress zone. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.

Most & Least Distressed

Most Distressed

#1 Mahnomen County
48.0 Normal
Consumer Credit Distress
#2 Ramsey County
47.7 Normal
Housing Cost Burden
#3 Pine County
45.7 Normal
Consumer Credit Distress

Least Distressed

#87 Murray County
18.0 Healthy
Consumer Credit Distress
#86 Stevens County
18.1 Healthy
Housing Cost Burden
#85 Kittson County
18.4 Healthy
Structural Poverty

Score Distribution

How Minnesota's 87 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.

All Minnesota Counties

87 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.

State Rank Nat'l Rank County Score Zone Primary Driver
1 1,713 Mahnomen County 48.0 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
2 1,734 Ramsey County 47.7 Normal Housing Cost Burden
3 1,862 Pine County 45.7 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
4 1,874 Beltrami County 45.5 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
5 1,977 Isanti County 43.6 Normal Housing Cost Burden
6 2,006 Clay County 43.2 Normal Housing Cost Burden
7 2,064 Mille Lacs County 42.1 Normal Housing Cost Burden
8 2,086 Wadena County 41.7 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
9 2,094 Mower County 41.6 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
10 2,095 St. Louis County 41.6 Normal Housing Cost Burden
11 2,164 Blue Earth County 40.4 Normal Housing Cost Burden
12 2,167 Itasca County 40.4 Normal Housing Cost Burden
13 2,213 Benton County 39.7 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
14 2,225 Freeborn County 39.5 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
15 2,242 Stearns County 39.2 Normal Housing Cost Burden
16 2,244 Kanabec County 39.2 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
17 2,278 Steele County 38.5 Normal Housing Cost Burden
18 2,293 Chisago County 38.3 Normal Housing Cost Burden
19 2,297 Anoka County 38.3 Normal Housing Cost Burden
20 2,318 Lake County 37.9 Normal Housing Cost Burden
21 2,343 Hennepin County 37.5 Normal Housing Cost Burden
22 2,373 Swift County 36.8 Normal Housing Cost Burden
23 2,375 Polk County 36.8 Normal Housing Cost Burden
24 2,398 Hubbard County 36.4 Normal Housing Cost Burden
25 2,415 Dakota County 36.1 Normal Housing Cost Burden
26 2,424 Faribault County 35.9 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
27 2,458 Martin County 35.5 Normal Housing Cost Burden
28 2,465 Norman County 35.2 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
29 2,476 Chippewa County 35.0 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
30 2,480 Crow Wing County 34.9 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
31 2,486 Rice County 34.8 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
32 2,536 Cottonwood County 33.9 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
33 2,542 Renville County 33.8 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
34 2,547 Pope County 33.8 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
35 2,557 Lyon County 33.6 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
36 2,563 Cass County 33.5 Healthy Structural Poverty
37 2,577 Redwood County 33.2 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
38 2,586 Sherburne County 33.0 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
39 2,596 Carlton County 32.9 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
40 2,608 Aitkin County 32.6 Healthy Structural Poverty
41 2,609 Nobles County 32.6 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
42 2,619 Le Sueur County 32.5 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
43 2,635 Winona County 32.3 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
44 2,649 Todd County 32.0 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
45 2,652 Kandiyohi County 31.9 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
46 2,661 Washington County 31.8 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
47 2,670 Pipestone County 31.6 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
48 2,683 Grant County 31.3 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
49 2,691 Pennington County 31.1 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
50 2,705 McLeod County 30.9 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
51 2,717 Wilkin County 30.8 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
52 2,718 Becker County 30.7 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
53 2,732 Waseca County 30.5 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
54 2,751 Olmsted County 30.2 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
55 2,753 Wright County 30.0 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
56 2,761 Meeker County 29.9 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
57 2,764 Koochiching County 29.9 Healthy Structural Poverty
58 2,769 Dodge County 29.8 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
59 2,783 Brown County 29.5 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
60 2,795 Scott County 29.2 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
61 2,802 Nicollet County 29.0 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
62 2,811 Lake of the Woods County 28.7 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
63 2,826 Goodhue County 28.5 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
64 2,831 Clearwater County 28.4 Healthy Structural Poverty
65 2,848 Roseau County 28.0 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
66 2,870 Fillmore County 27.5 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
67 2,873 Watonwan County 27.4 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
68 2,886 Lincoln County 27.1 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
69 2,898 Otter Tail County 26.8 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
70 2,915 Wabasha County 26.4 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
71 2,922 Houston County 26.2 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
72 2,923 Jackson County 26.1 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
73 2,930 Sibley County 26.0 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
74 2,937 Big Stone County 25.9 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
75 2,963 Morrison County 25.1 Healthy Structural Poverty
76 2,980 Lac qui Parle County 24.6 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
77 2,982 Cook County 24.5 Healthy Structural Poverty
78 3,008 Rock County 23.2 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
79 3,013 Red Lake County 23.0 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
80 3,023 Douglas County 22.6 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
81 3,032 Yellow Medicine County 22.1 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
82 3,035 Carver County 22.0 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
83 3,037 Traverse County 21.9 Healthy Structural Poverty
84 3,076 Marshall County 19.8 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
85 3,096 Kittson County 18.4 Healthy Structural Poverty
86 3,103 Stevens County 18.1 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
87 3,105 Murray County 18.0 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress

How County Scores Work

Each county is scored 0–100 using PCA-weighted percentile-rank scoring across five statistically derived dimensions: Consumer Credit Distress, Housing Cost Burden, Structural Poverty, Economic Vitality, and Legal Distress. A score of 50 means the county falls at the national median. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.

Crisis (≥80) — Among the most distressed counties in the country
Serious (65–80) — More distressed than roughly 80% of counties
Elevated (50–65) — More distressed than roughly half of counties
Normal (35–50) — Near the national median
Healthy (<35) — Less distressed than most counties

Full CDI methodology and data sources

Minnesota Resources

Minnesota State Profile

State ADI score: 42.4 (Healthy). Debt, delinquency, and economic indicators for Minnesota.

Find Help in Minnesota

HUD-approved housing counselors, legal aid offices, credit counselors, and debtor education providers in Minnesota.

Minnesota Foreclosure Laws

Foreclosure process, timeline, homeowner protections, and legal resources in Minnesota.

State Distress Rankings

All 51 U.S. jurisdictions ranked by financial distress. Compare Minnesota to the rest of the country.

National County Profiles

All 3,144 U.S. counties ranked by financial distress score.
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