About one in 14 people in Dakota County, Minnesota, lives below the poverty line
In Dakota County, 7.1% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 83% of U.S. counties.
What drives Dakota County's score
In Dakota County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 59.0. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 6.0. About one in 15 children (6.9%, 2024) lives below the poverty line, a lower share than in 96% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Dakota 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, Dakota County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (23.2%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (215.4, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 59.0 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent23.2% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.7% · fiscal year 202739th percentile
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- 43.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.8% · August 20257th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people215.4 · 202578th percentile
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- 31.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202655th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.4% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
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- 11.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.3% · August 202514th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.9% · August 202513th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score26.4% · second quarter of 20265th percentile
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- 6.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.1% · 20244th percentile
- Children below the poverty line6.9% · 20243rd percentile
- People with a disability10.8% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- People without health insurance4.2% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$105,495 · 20244th 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 Dakota 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 Dakota County, 15.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Dakota County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Dakota County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 14.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about five times as much as benefit checks
In Dakota County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 14.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Dakota County getting SNAP food aid rose most from 4.3% in 2012 to 5.9% in 2014, 0.8 points each year.
The share of households in Dakota County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 2.9% 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, Dakota County, Minnesota.
How Dakota County has changed
Dakota County's population had its largest rise, from 213,995 in 1984 to 265,585 in 1989.
Dakota County's population more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 453,156, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 453,156. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Dakota County, Minnesota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Dakota County doubled to 189,166, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 153,031. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Dakota County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.6% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 3.7% | 2024 7.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $41,750 | 2024 $105,495 |
The table uses 3.6% for 2025; the score uses 4.2% 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 Dakota County's history
1998
Hail in May 1998 did $100 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A thunderstorm in May 1998 did $140 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A thunderstorm in May 1998 did $24 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
A flash flood in July 2000 did $20 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 439,882, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Dakota County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Dakota County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Dakota County, in Minnesota and Wisconsin, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Dakota County ranks 5th of the eight; Rice County is highest, at 21.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ramsey County, MN | 45 | 13.3% | 20.3% |
| Hennepin County, MN | 24 | 9.5% | 12.9% |
| Rice County, MN | 17 | 10.6% | 21.1% |
| Dakota County, MN | 16 | 7.1% | 14.8% |
| Goodhue County, MN | 12 | 7.2% | 21.0% |
| Washington County, MN | 10 | 4.9% | 12.9% |
| Scott County, MN | 7 | 5.3% | 10.8% |
| Pierce County, WI | 5 | 7.8% | 19.2% |
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 Dakota County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Dakota County's poverty rate was 7.1% in 2024, 78th 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, Dakota County ranks 47th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Dakota 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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Dakota County Community Development Agency
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Dakota 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 Dakota County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.