About one in seven people with a credit file in Aitkin County, Minnesota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Aitkin County, 13.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 87% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 62% of U.S. counties.
What drives Aitkin County's score
In Aitkin County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 66.2. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 9.2. People with a credit card behind: 1.8%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Aitkin 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, Aitkin County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (7.6%, 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.
- 66.2 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year7.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.7% · 2020 to 202437th percentile
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- 51.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.9% · 202455th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.5% · 202436th 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)$62,351 · 202462nd percentile
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- 46.4 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 rent17.9% · 2020 to 202448th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.2% · fiscal year 202744th percentile
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- 39.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.4% · August 202513th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people167.7 · 202565th percentile
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- 9.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind1.8% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.4% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.4% · second quarter of 202617th 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 Aitkin 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 Aitkin County, 34.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Aitkin County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Aitkin County had its largest rise, from 28.2% in 2004 to 35.9% in 2009.
In Aitkin County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 37.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Aitkin County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 37.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Aitkin County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 11.0% in 2018 to 9.2% in 2019.
The share of households in Aitkin County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 7.7% 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, Aitkin County, Minnesota.
How Aitkin County has changed
Aitkin County's population rose 45% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 15,062. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Aitkin County, Minnesota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Aitkin County rose by more than half to 4,402, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 3,874. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Aitkin County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.4% | 2025 6.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.2% | 2024 13.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,029 | 2024 $62,351 |
The table uses 6.7% for 2025; the score uses 7.6% 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 Aitkin County's history
1857
May 23, 1857 (created) June 30, 1871 (organized). Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 17,865. The 2020 Census counted 15,697, 88% of the peak. Census Bureau
1969
A tornado in August 1969 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1969
A tornado in August 1969 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Aitkin County, 17 of them for flooding. FEMA
Aitkin County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Aitkin County, one scores higher. Of the group, Aitkin County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (37.1%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine County, MN | 46 | 13.5% | 34.4% |
| Itasca County, MN | 37 | 11.0% | 33.2% |
| Aitkin County, MN | 37 | 13.9% | 37.1% |
| Kanabec County, MN | 36 | 11.0% | 30.9% |
| St. Louis County, MN | 35 | 12.7% | 27.5% |
| Mille Lacs County, MN | 35 | 10.8% | 31.1% |
| Crow Wing County, MN | 28 | 10.8% | 29.1% |
| Carlton County, MN | 28 | 11.2% | 29.9% |
| Cass County, MN | 27 | 11.7% | 32.9% |
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 Aitkin County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Aitkin County's poverty rate was 13.9% in 2024, 6th highest of 87 in Minnesota (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Beltrami County, at 17.3%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Aitkin County ranks 10th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Aitkin 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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Justice North
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 Aitkin 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 Aitkin County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.