About one in seven people with a credit file in Grant County, Minnesota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Grant County, 13.8% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 85% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 73% of U.S. counties.
What drives Grant County's score
In Grant County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 53.0. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 26.5. About one in 10 children (10.2%, 2024) lives below the poverty line, a lower share than in 86% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Grant 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, Grant County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.4%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 53.0 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202686th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.7% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
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- 38.0 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 income17.4% · fiscal year 202716th percentile
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- 35.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.1% · August 202544th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.8% · August 202529th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.4% · second quarter of 202631st percentile
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- 28.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.8% · August 202514th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people114 · 202543rd percentile
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- 26.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.8% · 202420th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.2% · 202413th percentile
- People with a disability14.6% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- People without health insurance5.1% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$69,963 · 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 Grant 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 Grant County, 23.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Grant County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Grant County had its largest rise, from 10.6% in 1974 to 15.7% in 1979.
In Grant County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 29.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Grant County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Grant County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 9.5% in 2016 to 7.9% in 2017.
The share of households in Grant County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 8.3%
Low on the chart: 6.1% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Grant County, Minnesota.
How Grant County has changed
Grant County's population had its largest drop, from 6,934 in 1984 to 6,266 in 1989.
Grant County's population fell by about a fifth from 1969 to 2024, reaching 6,109
High on the chart: 7,643 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Grant County, Minnesota.
The number of jobs located in Grant County rose most sharply from its first year (1,678 in 1990) to 2,138 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Grant County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 2,138 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Grant County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.5% | 2025 5.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.0% | 2024 9.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,351 | 2024 $69,963 |
The table uses 5.0% for 2025; the score uses 5.4% 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 Grant County's history
1868
March 6, 1868 (created) 1874 (organized). Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 9,828. The 2020 Census counted 6,074, 62% of the peak. Census Bureau
1982
A tornado in May 1982 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A tornado in April 1984 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2022
A tornado in May 2022 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2022
A tornado in May 2022 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Grant County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Grant County beside its neighbors
Grant County scores higher than all five counties that border it. Of the group, Grant County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (29.2%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grant County, MN | 26 | 9.8% | 29.2% |
| Traverse County, MN | 20 | 13.1% | 25.6% |
| Wilkin County, MN | 15 | 8.5% | 24.5% |
| Otter Tail County, MN | 12 | 10.5% | 27.0% |
| Stevens County, MN | 6 | 10.9% | 20.9% |
| Douglas County, MN | 4 | 9.3% | 23.6% |
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 Grant County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Grant County's poverty rate was 9.8% in 2024, 49th 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, Grant County ranks 25th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Grant 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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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.
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 Grant County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.