In Hennepin County, Minnesota, benefit checks make up only 13 cents of every dollar of income
In Hennepin County, 12.9% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 75% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hennepin County's score
In Hennepin County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 68.1. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 11.4. About one in 10 people (10.5%, 2020 to 2024) has a disability, a lower share than in 94% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hennepin 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.
Hennepin 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.
- 68.1 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 rent22.4% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.8% · fiscal year 202761st percentile
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- 42.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.7% · August 202513th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people188.1 · 202571st percentile
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- 32.6 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 202654th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working13.7% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
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- 20.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.5% · August 202517th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.0% · August 202532nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score28.5% · second quarter of 20269th percentile
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- 11.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.5% · 202418th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.8% · 202412th percentile
- People with a disability10.5% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- People without health insurance4.5% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$95,372 · 20247th 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 Hennepin 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 Hennepin County, 15.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hennepin County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Hennepin County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 12.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about five times as much as benefit checks
In Hennepin County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 12.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Hennepin County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (5.9% in 2009) to 6.8% in 2010.
The share of households in Hennepin County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 8.1%
Low on the chart: 5.9% 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, Hennepin County, Minnesota.
How Hennepin County has changed
Hennepin County's population had its largest rise, from 1,146,721 in 2009 to 1,217,282 in 2014.
Hennepin County's population rose by about a third from 1969 to 2024, reaching 1,273,334
High on the chart: 1,277,450 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hennepin County, Minnesota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Hennepin County rose by about a quarter to 919,062, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 873,548. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hennepin County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.9% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.5% | 2024 9.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $35,438 | 2024 $95,372 |
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 Hennepin County's history
1965
A tornado in May 1965 did $25 million in property damage and killed six people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
Hail in May 1998 did $450 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
A thunderstorm in September 2005 did $130 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in May 2011 did $166 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 1,281,565, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hennepin County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hennepin County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Hennepin County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Hennepin County ranks 6th of the eight; Ramsey County is highest, at 20.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ramsey County, MN | 45 | 13.3% | 20.3% |
| Hennepin County, MN | 24 | 9.5% | 12.9% |
| Anoka County, MN | 23 | 6.9% | 17.7% |
| Dakota County, MN | 16 | 7.1% | 14.8% |
| Sherburne County, MN | 15 | 5.9% | 17.4% |
| Wright County, MN | 12 | 6.2% | 14.9% |
| Scott County, MN | 7 | 5.3% | 10.8% |
| Carver County, MN | 2 | 4.7% | 10.0% |
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 Hennepin County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Hennepin County's poverty rate was 9.5% in 2024, 53rd 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, Hennepin County ranks 35th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hennepin 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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Build Wealth Minnesota, Inc
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota
HUD-approved housing counselor
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NSC (NACA Counseling Subsidiary) - Minneapolis, MN
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid
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 Hennepin 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 Hennepin County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.