About one in eight people with a credit file in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Crow Wing County, 12.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 89% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 71% of U.S. counties.
What drives Crow Wing County's score
In Crow Wing County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 59.2. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 14.0. People with a car or retail loan behind: 2.6%, August 2025, lower than in 90% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Crow Wing 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, Crow Wing County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.6%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (219.6, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 59.2 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 working17.5% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
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- 44.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.6% · August 20259th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people219.6 · 202579th percentile
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- 38.5 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 rent17.1% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.1% · fiscal year 202732nd percentile
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- 31.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.8% · 202429th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.8% · 202426th percentile
- People with a disability15.9% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- People without health insurance5.2% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$73,595 · 202431st percentile
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- 14.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.5% · August 202519th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.6% · August 20259th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.9% · second quarter of 202612th 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 Crow Wing 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 Crow Wing County, 24.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Crow Wing County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Crow Wing County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 29.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Crow Wing County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Crow Wing County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 5.2% in 2010 to 6.9% in 2011.
The share of households in Crow Wing County getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 8.7%
High on the chart: 9.2% in 2015. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Crow Wing County, Minnesota.
How Crow Wing County has changed
Crow Wing County's population had its largest rise, from 43,790 in 1989 to 49,388 in 1994.
Crow Wing County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 68,642, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 63,353. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Crow Wing County, Minnesota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Crow Wing County doubled to 31,145, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 25,712. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Crow Wing County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.0% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.1% | 2024 10.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,771 | 2024 $73,595 |
The table uses 4.8% 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 Crow Wing County's history
1857
May 23, 1857 (created) March 3, 1870 (organized). Wikipedia
1922
Railroad strike on July 1, 1922. Wikipedia
1969
A tornado in August 1969 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1973
A tornado in June 1973 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1977
A tornado in August 1977 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1991
A tornado in July 1991 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 66,123, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
12 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Crow Wing County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Crow Wing County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Crow Wing County, two score higher. Of the group, Crow Wing County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Aitkin County gets the largest, at 37.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aitkin County, MN | 37 | 13.9% | 37.1% |
| Mille Lacs County, MN | 35 | 10.8% | 31.1% |
| Crow Wing County, MN | 28 | 10.8% | 29.1% |
| Cass County, MN | 27 | 11.7% | 32.9% |
| 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 Crow Wing County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Crow Wing County's poverty rate was 10.8% in 2024, 34th 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, Crow Wing County ranks 21st of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Crow Wing 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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Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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.
Download the CSV for Crow Wing 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 Crow Wing County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.