About one in seven people with a credit file in Freeborn County, Minnesota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Freeborn County, 15.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 81% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 67% of U.S. counties.
What drives Freeborn County's score
In Freeborn County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 46.0. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 34.6. About one in eight children (13.1%, 2024) lives below the poverty line, a lower share than in 71% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Freeborn 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.
Freeborn 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.
- 46.1 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202667th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.6% · 2020 to 202424th percentile
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- 43.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector15.0% · August 202519th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people173.7 · 202567th percentile
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- 39.3 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 rent19.7% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.7% · fiscal year 202719th percentile
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- 36.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.5% · August 202533rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.2% · August 202550th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score34.0% · second quarter of 202625th percentile
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- 34.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.3% · 202433rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.1% · 202428th percentile
- People with a disability14.1% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- People without health insurance6.6% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$69,863 · 202441st 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 Freeborn 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 Freeborn County, 23.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Freeborn County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Freeborn County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 28.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Freeborn County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Freeborn County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (5.0% in 2009) to 6.9% in 2010.
The share of households in Freeborn County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 9.5%
Low on the chart: 5.0% 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, Freeborn County, Minnesota.
How Freeborn County has changed
Freeborn County's population had its largest drop, from 35,013 in 1984 to 33,252 in 1989.
Freeborn County's population fell by about a fifth from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30,314, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 37,283. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Freeborn County, Minnesota.
The number of jobs located in Freeborn County had its largest rise, from 12,192 in 1995 to 13,693 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Freeborn County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 14% since
High on the chart: 13,693 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Freeborn County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 11.3% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.9% | 2024 11.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,172 | 2024 $69,863 |
The table uses 3.9% for 2025; the score uses 4.6% 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 Freeborn County's history
1855
Created February 20, 1855, separated from Blue Earth and Rice Counties. Wikipedia
1953
A tornado in May 1953 killed six people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1967
A tornado in April 1967 did $25 million in property damage and killed five people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1967
A tornado in April 1967 did $25 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1970
The county's largest recorded population was the 1970 Census count of 38,064. The 2020 Census counted 30,895, 81% of the peak. Census Bureau
1984
A tornado in June 1984 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
Wilson & Company meatpacking plant destroyed by fire. Wikipedia
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Since 1965
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Freeborn County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Freeborn County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Freeborn County, in Minnesota and Iowa, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Freeborn County ranks 2nd of the seven; Faribault County is highest, at 31.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mower County, MN | 37 | 9.2% | 26.1% |
| Faribault County, MN | 33 | 10.8% | 31.4% |
| Freeborn County, MN | 32 | 11.3% | 28.3% |
| Steele County, MN | 24 | 8.3% | 23.0% |
| Waseca County, MN | 13 | 8.9% | 22.0% |
| Winnebago County, IA | 8 | 10.4% | 26.3% |
| Worth County, IA | 3 | 10.0% | 23.3% |
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 Freeborn County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Freeborn County's poverty rate was 11.3% in 2024, 26th 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, Freeborn County ranks 17th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Freeborn 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 Freeborn 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 Freeborn County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.