About one in nine people in Blue Earth County, Minnesota, has a disability
In Blue Earth County, 11.7% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 87% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 75% of U.S. counties.
What drives Blue Earth County's score
In Blue Earth County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 66.1. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 14.2. People with a car or retail loan behind: 2.7%, August 2025, lower than in 88% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Blue Earth 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, Blue Earth County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (24.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 66.1 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent24.6% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.4% · fiscal year 202746th percentile
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- 36.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.9% · August 202518th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people135.7 · 202554th percentile
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- 32.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202647th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.3% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
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- 26.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.1% · 202457th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.3% · 202414th percentile
- People with a disability11.7% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- People without health insurance4.3% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,501 · 202434th percentile
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- 14.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.5% · August 202518th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.7% · August 202511th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.9% · second quarter of 202612th 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 Blue Earth 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 Blue Earth County, 15.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Blue Earth County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Blue Earth County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 21.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Blue Earth County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Blue Earth County getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled to 8.8%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2012 to 2013, reaching 8.2%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Blue Earth County, Minnesota.
How Blue Earth County has changed
Blue Earth County's population rose by about half to 70,700, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2004 to 2009, reaching 63,565. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Blue Earth County, Minnesota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Blue Earth County nearly doubled to 41,483, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 28,817. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Blue Earth County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.7% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.5% | 2024 14.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,516 | 2024 $72,501 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 4.0% 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 Blue Earth County's history
1853
Created March 5, 1853 from portions of Dakota County and free territory. Wikipedia
1862
Removal of all Native Americans from the county following the Dakota War of 1862. Wikipedia
1976
A tornado in June 1976 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1980
A tornado in August 1980 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A thunderstorm in May 1998 did $20 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 69,112, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2021
A thunderstorm in September 2021 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Blue Earth County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Blue Earth County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Blue Earth County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Blue Earth County ranks 6th of the eight; Faribault County is highest, at 31.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faribault County, MN | 33 | 10.8% | 31.4% |
| Martin County, MN | 25 | 12.7% | 28.1% |
| Blue Earth County, MN | 24 | 14.1% | 21.2% |
| Brown County, MN | 14 | 9.6% | 25.0% |
| Waseca County, MN | 13 | 8.9% | 22.0% |
| Watonwan County, MN | 12 | 10.6% | 25.1% |
| Le Sueur County, MN | 10 | 7.4% | 19.8% |
| Nicollet County, MN | 5 | 7.8% | 19.2% |
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 Blue Earth County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Blue Earth County's poverty rate was 14.1% in 2024, 4th 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, Blue Earth County ranks 34th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Blue Earth 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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Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership Mankato Branch
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services
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 Blue Earth 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 Blue Earth County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.