In Chippewa County, Minnesota, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Chippewa County, 17.3% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 84% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 78% of U.S. counties.
What drives Chippewa County's score
In Chippewa County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 48.4. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 14.8. People with a credit card behind: 2.0%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Chippewa 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, Chippewa County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.0%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 48.4 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202679th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.3% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
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- 41.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.4% · 202443rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.1% · 202455th percentile
- People with a disability13.3% · 2020 to 202424th percentile
- People without health insurance7.3% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,511 · 202439th percentile
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- 33.5 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 rent18.4% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.3% · fiscal year 202715th percentile
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- 26.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.6% · August 202517th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people98.6 · 202535th percentile
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- 14.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.9% · August 202513th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score34.1% · second quarter of 202626th 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 Chippewa 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 Chippewa County, 21.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Chippewa County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Chippewa County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 27.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Chippewa County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.8%; 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 Chippewa County getting SNAP food aid more than doubled to 9.8%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2023 to 2024, reaching 9.8%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Chippewa County, Minnesota.
How Chippewa County has changed
Chippewa County's population fell by about a fifth to 12,299, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 13,361. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Chippewa County, Minnesota.
The number of jobs located in Chippewa County rose most sharply from its first year (4,657 in 1990) to 5,235 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Chippewa County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 13% since
High on the chart: 5,873 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Chippewa County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.8% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.2% | 2024 12.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,159 | 2024 $70,511 |
The table uses 4.4% for 2025; the score uses 5.0% 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 Chippewa County's history
1862
February 20, 1862 (created) 1868 (organized). Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 16,927. The 2020 Census counted 12,598, 74% of the peak. Census Bureau
1993
A tornado in May 1993 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Chippewa County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Chippewa County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Chippewa County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Chippewa County ranks 2nd of the six; Lac qui Parle County is highest, at 29.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swift County, MN | 44 | 13.2% | 23.4% |
| Renville County, MN | 25 | 10.8% | 26.1% |
| Chippewa County, MN | 21 | 12.4% | 27.8% |
| Kandiyohi County, MN | 16 | 8.9% | 23.0% |
| Lac qui Parle County, MN | 10 | 9.3% | 29.1% |
| Yellow Medicine County, MN | 10 | 9.8% | 24.4% |
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 Chippewa County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Chippewa County's poverty rate was 12.4% in 2024, 18th 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, Chippewa County ranks 38th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Chippewa 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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Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid
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 Chippewa 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 Chippewa County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.