About one in 12 people with a credit file in Houston County, Minnesota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Houston County, 8.3% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 89% of U.S. counties.
What drives Houston County's score
In Houston County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 71.4. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 5.0. People with a credit card behind: 2.0%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Houston 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, Houston County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (27.0%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 71.4 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 rent27.0% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.7% · fiscal year 202750th percentile
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- 23.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202641st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working10.1% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
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- 13.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector8.3% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people75.3 · 202522nd percentile
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- 11.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.6% · 202412th percentile
- Children below the poverty line8.0% · 20246th percentile
- People with a disability11.0% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- People without health insurance3.2% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$77,735 · 202424th percentile
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- 5.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind0.6% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score25.3% · second quarter of 20265th or lower 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 Houston 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 Houston 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
Houston County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Houston County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 23.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Houston County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.6%; 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 Houston County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 3.4%
Biggest drop: 2017 to 2018, reaching 6.0%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Houston County, Minnesota.
How Houston County has changed
Houston County's population rose 4% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979
High on the chart: 19,631 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Houston County, Minnesota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Houston County rose 30% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 5,255 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Houston County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.4% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.6% | 2024 8.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,881 | 2024 $77,735 |
The table uses 3.3% for 2025; the score uses 3.8% 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 Houston County's history
1854
February 23, 1854 (created) April 4, 1854 (organized). Wikipedia
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 19,718. The 2020 Census counted 18,843, 96% of the peak. Census Bureau
2007
A flash flood in August 2007 did $27 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A flash flood in August 2007 did $3 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A flash flood in August 2007 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A flash flood in June 2013 did $7.1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Houston County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Houston County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Houston County, in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Houston County ranks 4th of the seven; Vernon County is highest, at 26.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vernon County, WI | 13 | 11.6% | 26.1% |
| Allamakee County, IA | 13 | 10.5% | 24.2% |
| Winona County, MN | 11 | 13.3% | 22.1% |
| Houston County, MN | 10 | 8.6% | 23.6% |
| La Crosse County, WI | 9 | 11.3% | 19.6% |
| Fillmore County, MN | 6 | 8.1% | 25.6% |
| Winneshiek County, IA | 0 | 8.9% | 20.7% |
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 Houston County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Houston County's poverty rate was 8.6% in 2024, 66th 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, Houston County ranks 71st of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Houston 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 Houston 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 Houston County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.