About one in seven people with a credit file in Carlton County, Minnesota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Carlton County, 13.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 86% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 71% of U.S. counties.
What drives Carlton County's score
In Carlton County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 62.8. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 12.8. People with a car or retail loan behind: 2.0%, August 2025, lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Carlton 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, Carlton County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.6%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 62.8 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202688th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.6% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
-
- 42.1 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 income19.4% · fiscal year 202735th percentile
-
- 42.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.6% · August 202513th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people181.9 · 202570th percentile
-
- 28.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.2% · 202432nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.2% · 202418th percentile
- People with a disability15.6% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
- People without health insurance4.5% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$74,613 · 202429th percentile
-
- 12.8 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 behind2.0% · August 20255th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score30.5% · second quarter of 202614th 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 Carlton 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 Carlton County, 18.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Carlton County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Carlton County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 29.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Carlton County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Carlton County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 9.6% in 2019 to 8.1% in 2020.
The share of households in Carlton County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 6.6% in 2014. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Carlton County, Minnesota.
How Carlton County has changed
Carlton County's population had its largest rise, from 31,558 in 1999 to 33,950 in 2004.
Carlton County's population rose by about a quarter to 36,745, the highest on the chart
High on the chart: 36,745 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Carlton County, Minnesota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Carlton County rose by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 13,111, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
High on the chart: 13,526 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Carlton County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.3% | 2025 5.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.8% | 2024 11.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,951 | 2024 $74,613 |
The table uses 5.1% for 2025; the score uses 5.6% 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 Carlton County's history
1857
May 23, 1857 (created) 1870 (organized). Wikipedia
1918
Immense forest fire known as the Cloquet fire occurred in October 1918. Wikipedia
2012
A flash flood in June 2012 did $20 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
A flood in June 2012 did $16 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
A flood in June 2012 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
A flash flood in June 2012 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 36,207, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
-
Since 1972
10 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Carlton County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Carlton County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Carlton County, in Minnesota and Wisconsin, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Carlton County ranks 3rd of the five; Aitkin County is highest, at 37.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine County, MN | 46 | 13.5% | 34.4% |
| Aitkin County, MN | 37 | 13.9% | 37.1% |
| St. Louis County, MN | 35 | 12.7% | 27.5% |
| Carlton County, MN | 28 | 11.2% | 29.9% |
| Douglas County, WI | 26 | 11.9% | 28.0% |
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 Carlton County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Carlton County's poverty rate was 11.2% in 2024, 27th 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, Carlton County ranks 22nd of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Carlton 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.
-
Justice North
Legal aid
-
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 Carlton 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 Carlton County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.