In Cass County, Minnesota, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Cass County, 16.3% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 90% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 72% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cass County's score
In Cass County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 70.9. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 22.3. About three in ten people (31.1%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a lower share than in 83% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cass 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, Cass County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (7.2%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 70.9 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year7.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202697th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.8% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
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- 40.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.7% · 202437th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.0% · 202444th percentile
- People with a disability15.7% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- People without health insurance6.9% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$74,471 · 202430th percentile
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- 25.6 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 rent16.8% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.3% · fiscal year 20279th percentile
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- 25.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.2% · August 202512th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people104.9 · 202538th percentile
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- 22.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.7% · August 202521st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.8% · August 202529th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.1% · second quarter of 202616th 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 Cass 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 Cass County, 27.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cass County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Cass County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 32.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a third more than benefit checks
In Cass County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Cass County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 8.4% in 2010 to 10.4% in 2011.
The share of households in Cass County getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 11.6%
High on the chart: 12.4% 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, Cass County, Minnesota.
How Cass County has changed
Cass County's population doubled to 31,442, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 26,671. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cass County, Minnesota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Cass County doubled to 10,595, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 7,644. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cass County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.6% | 2025 6.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.0% | 2024 11.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,099 | 2024 $74,471 |
The table uses 6.3% for 2025; the score uses 7.2% 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 Cass County's history
1851
September 1, 1851 (created) 1897 (organized). Wikipedia
1907
Ah-Gwah-Ching Center established 1907 as tuberculosis treatment facility, later WPA art display site during Great Depression. Wikipedia
1969
A tornado in August 1969 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed 12 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1969
A tornado in August 1969 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1991
A tornado in July 1991 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
A thunderstorm in August 2000 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 30,066, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cass County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cass County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Cass County, six score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Cass County ranks 4th of the nine; Wadena County is highest, at 38.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beltrami County, MN | 54 | 17.3% | 31.1% |
| Wadena County, MN | 50 | 15.1% | 38.2% |
| Itasca County, MN | 37 | 11.0% | 33.2% |
| Aitkin County, MN | 37 | 13.9% | 37.1% |
| Hubbard County, MN | 29 | 12.4% | 28.3% |
| Crow Wing County, MN | 28 | 10.8% | 29.1% |
| Cass County, MN | 27 | 11.7% | 32.9% |
| Todd County, MN | 19 | 10.5% | 25.8% |
| Morrison County, MN | 15 | 11.5% | 29.6% |
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 Cass County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Cass County's poverty rate was 11.7% in 2024, 22nd 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, Cass County ranks 23rd of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cass 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.
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 Cass County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.