About one in 12 people with a credit file in Cook County, Minnesota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Cook County, 8.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 88% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cook County's score
In Cook County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 49.0. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 12.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cook 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, Cook County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.8%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 49.0 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202690th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.6% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
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- 26.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.8% · 202420th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.6% · 202425th percentile
- People with a disability12.3% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- People without health insurance5.2% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$68,087 · 202445th percentile
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- 20.1 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 rent11.9% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.0% · fiscal year 202721st percentile
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- 19.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.2% · August 202545th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.6% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score26.9% · second quarter of 20266th percentile
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- 12.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector8.2% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people70.9 · 202519th 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 Cook 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 Cook County, 31.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cook County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Cook County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 25.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Cook County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Cook County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop in the last span, from 6.4% in 2023 to 4.1% in 2024.
The share of households in Cook County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen to 4.1%
Low on the chart: 3.7% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Cook County, Minnesota.
How Cook County has changed
Cook County's population had its largest rise, from 3,848 in 1989 to 4,498 in 1994.
Cook County's population nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 5,571
High on the chart: 5,576 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cook County, Minnesota.
The number of jobs located in Cook County rose most sharply from its first year (1,759 in 1990) to 2,437 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Cook County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 2,909 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cook County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.7% | 2025 4.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.4% | 2024 9.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,941 | 2024 $68,087 |
The table uses 4.9% for 2025; the score uses 5.8% 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 Cook County's history
1874
Created March 9, 1874. Wikipedia
1996
Lightning in August 1996 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A thunderstorm in June 2016 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 5,600, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1976
10 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cook County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cook County beside its neighbors
All one counties that border Cook County score higher than it does.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake County, MN | 38 | 10.0% | 31.0% |
| Cook County, MN | 11 | 9.8% | 25.5% |
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 Cook County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Cook County's poverty rate was 9.8% in 2024, 49th 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, Cook County ranks 67th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cook 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 Cook County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.