About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Cottonwood County, Minnesota, have a job
In Cottonwood County, 12.3% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 83% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cottonwood County's score
In Cottonwood County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 39.0. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 11.7. Rent on a two-bedroom takes 16.5% of the typical household's income (fiscal year 2027), lower than in 90% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cottonwood 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.
Cottonwood County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 39.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.1% · August 202515th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people159 · 202562nd percentile
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- 38.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202670th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.3% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
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- 30.4 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 line15.4% · 202440th percentile
- People with a disability11.6% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- People without health insurance5.9% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$73,902 · 202431st percentile
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- 27.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.5% · August 202517th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.9% · August 202545th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score32.2% · second quarter of 202619th percentile
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- 11.7 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 rent10.6% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.5% · fiscal year 20279th 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 Cottonwood 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 Cottonwood County, 22.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cottonwood County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Cottonwood County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 29.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Cottonwood County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Cottonwood County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 9.0% in 2012 to 13.7% in 2013.
The share of households in Cottonwood County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 6.0% 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, Cottonwood County, Minnesota.
How Cottonwood County has changed
Cottonwood County's population had its largest drop, from 14,157 in 1984 to 12,928 in 1989.
Cottonwood County's population fell by about a fifth to 11,338, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 15,192 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cottonwood County, Minnesota.
The number of jobs located in Cottonwood County rose most sharply from its first year (4,136 in 1990) to 4,751 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Cottonwood County was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 5,305 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cottonwood County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.2% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.1% | 2024 11.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,082 | 2024 $73,902 |
The table uses 4.7% 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 Cottonwood County's history
1857
May 23, 1857 (created) July 29, 1870 (organized). Wikipedia
1952
A tornado in June 1952 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1960
The county's largest recorded population was the 1960 Census count of 16,166. The 2020 Census counted 11,517, 71% of the peak. Census Bureau
1979
A tornado in June 1979 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A tornado in March 1998 did $30 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A flood in June 2024 did $20.7 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cottonwood County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cottonwood County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Cottonwood County, two score higher. Of the group, Cottonwood County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (29.5%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nobles County, MN | 25 | 13.3% | 20.8% |
| Redwood County, MN | 24 | 11.0% | 19.6% |
| Cottonwood County, MN | 16 | 11.7% | 29.5% |
| Brown County, MN | 14 | 9.6% | 25.0% |
| Watonwan County, MN | 12 | 10.6% | 25.1% |
| Jackson County, MN | 7 | 9.4% | 23.6% |
| Murray County, MN | 7 | 10.2% | 24.7% |
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 Cottonwood County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Cottonwood 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, Cottonwood County ranks 53rd of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cottonwood 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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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 Cottonwood 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 Cottonwood County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.