About one in 14 people in Goodhue County, Minnesota, lives below the poverty line
In Goodhue County, 7.2% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 87% of U.S. counties.
What drives Goodhue County's score
In Goodhue County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 41.0. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 7.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Goodhue 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.
Goodhue 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.
- 41.0 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 202668th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.4% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
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- 36.9 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 rent20.1% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.7% · fiscal year 202711th percentile
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- 34.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.3% · August 20256th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people160.3 · 202563rd percentile
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- 13.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.2% · 20244th percentile
- Children below the poverty line7.2% · 20244th percentile
- People with a disability11.5% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- People without health insurance5.9% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$84,127 · 202415th percentile
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- 7.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.3% · August 20254th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.5% · August 20258th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score28.2% · second quarter of 20268th 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 Goodhue 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 Goodhue County, 20.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Goodhue County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Goodhue County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 21.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Goodhue County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.0%; 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 Goodhue County getting SNAP food aid doubled to 7.6%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2022 to 2023, reaching 7.1%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Goodhue County, Minnesota.
How Goodhue County has changed
Goodhue County's population had its largest rise, from 34,579 in 1969 to 37,115 in 1974.
Goodhue County's population rose 39% from 1969 to 2024, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 47,982. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Goodhue County, Minnesota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Goodhue County rose by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 21,796, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 21,904 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Goodhue County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.6% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 7.1% | 2024 7.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $30,749 | 2024 $84,127 |
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 Goodhue County's history
1853
Created March 5, 1853, with territory partitioned from Wabasha County. Wikipedia
1998
A flash flood in June 1998 did $1.5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
A tornado in May 2001 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
A flash flood in June 2005 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A thunderstorm in June 2016 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 47,582, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Goodhue County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Goodhue County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Goodhue County, in Minnesota and Wisconsin, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Goodhue County ranks 4th of the eight; Pepin County is highest, at 25.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rice County, MN | 17 | 10.6% | 21.1% |
| Dakota County, MN | 16 | 7.1% | 14.8% |
| Dodge County, MN | 16 | 7.4% | 18.8% |
| Goodhue County, MN | 12 | 7.2% | 21.0% |
| Olmsted County, MN | 7 | 6.8% | 16.1% |
| Pierce County, WI | 5 | 7.8% | 19.2% |
| Pepin County, WI | 5 | 11.0% | 25.9% |
| Wabasha County, MN | 3 | 7.0% | 25.3% |
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 Goodhue County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Goodhue County's poverty rate was 7.2% in 2024, 76th 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, Goodhue County ranks 65th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Goodhue 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 Goodhue 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 Goodhue County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.