About one in 14 people in Isanti County, Minnesota, lives below the poverty line
In Isanti County, 7.2% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 63% of U.S. counties.
What drives Isanti County's score
In Isanti County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 76.6. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 10.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Isanti 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, Isanti County is worse off than most counties on bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (303.4, 2025) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.8%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 76.6 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 rent24.8% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.5% · fiscal year 202767th percentile
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- 55.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.9% · August 202518th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people303.4 · 202591st percentile
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- 53.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202690th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.1% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
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- 16.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.3% · August 202530th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.1% · August 20256th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.4% · second quarter of 202611th percentile
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- 10.4 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 line7.8% · 20245th percentile
- People with a disability12.6% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- People without health insurance4.5% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$92,468 · 20248th 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 Isanti 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 Isanti County, 17.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Isanti County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Isanti County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 23.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Isanti County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Isanti County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 6.4% in 2012 to 8.0% in 2013.
The share of households in Isanti County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 5.4% 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, Isanti County, Minnesota.
How Isanti County has changed
Isanti County's population had its largest rise, from 30,609 in 1999 to 35,592 in 2004.
Isanti County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 43,687, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 38,236. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Isanti County, Minnesota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Isanti County nearly doubled to 11,167, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2000 to 2005, reaching 10,728. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Isanti County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.8% | 2025 5.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.4% | 2024 7.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $31,558 | 2024 $92,468 |
The table uses 5.1% for 2025; the score uses 5.8% 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 Isanti County's history
1857
Formed February 13, 1857. Wikipedia
1995
A tornado in July 1995 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 41,135, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
10 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Isanti County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Isanti County beside its neighbors
Isanti County scores higher than all five counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Isanti County ranks 3rd of the six; Mille Lacs County is highest, at 31.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isanti County, MN | 36 | 7.2% | 23.2% |
| Kanabec County, MN | 36 | 11.0% | 30.9% |
| Mille Lacs County, MN | 35 | 10.8% | 31.1% |
| Chisago County, MN | 25 | 6.4% | 20.3% |
| Anoka County, MN | 23 | 6.9% | 17.7% |
| Sherburne County, MN | 15 | 5.9% | 17.4% |
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 Isanti County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Isanti 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, Isanti County ranks 11th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Isanti 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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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 Isanti 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 Isanti County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.