About one in 14 people in Dodge County, Minnesota, lives below the poverty line
In Dodge County, 7.4% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 83% of U.S. counties.
What drives Dodge County's score
In Dodge County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 50.6. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 10.2. People with a credit card behind: 2.4%, August 2025, lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Dodge 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, Dodge County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (24.3%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (232.4, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 50.6 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 rent24.3% · 2020 to 202484th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.5% · fiscal year 202717th percentile
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- 43.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector10.8% · August 20255th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people232.4 · 202582nd percentile
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- 33.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202662nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working11.8% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
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- 10.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.4% · 20245th percentile
- Children below the poverty line7.4% · 20244th percentile
- People with a disability11.2% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- People without health insurance5.5% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$97,714 · 20246th percentile
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- 10.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.4% · August 20256th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.1% · August 202516th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score27.6% · second quarter of 20267th 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 Dodge 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 Dodge 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
Dodge County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Dodge County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 18.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Dodge County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 18.8%; 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 Dodge County getting SNAP food aid more than doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 6.1%, with most of the change between 2023 and 2024
High on the chart: 6.1% in 2016. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Dodge County, Minnesota.
How Dodge County has changed
Dodge County's population had its largest rise, from 17,387 in 1999 to 19,162 in 2004.
Dodge County's population rose by more than half to 21,242, the highest on the chart
High on the chart: 21,242 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Dodge County, Minnesota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Dodge County nearly doubled to 5,983, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 5,945. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Dodge County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.2% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.1% | 2024 7.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $30,884 | 2024 $97,714 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 Dodge County's history
1996
A thunderstorm in May 1996 did $8.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A flood in September 2010 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 20,867, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Dodge County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Dodge County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Dodge County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Dodge County ranks 5th of the six; Mower County is highest, at 26.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mower County, MN | 37 | 9.2% | 26.1% |
| Steele County, MN | 24 | 8.3% | 23.0% |
| Rice County, MN | 17 | 10.6% | 21.1% |
| Dodge County, MN | 16 | 7.4% | 18.8% |
| Goodhue County, MN | 12 | 7.2% | 21.0% |
| Olmsted County, MN | 7 | 6.8% | 16.1% |
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 Dodge County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Dodge County's poverty rate was 7.4% in 2024, 74th 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, Dodge County ranks 50th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Dodge 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.
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 Dodge County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.