About one in eight people with a credit file in Itasca County, Minnesota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Itasca County, 12.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 91% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 62% of U.S. counties.
What drives Itasca County's score
In Itasca County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 73.2. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 10.8. People with a car or retail loan behind: 2.5%, August 2025, lower than in 90% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Itasca 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, Itasca County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (6.8%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (28.3%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 73.2 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202696th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.7% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
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- 65.5 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 rent28.3% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.5% · fiscal year 202736th percentile
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- 33.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.0% · 202430th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.9% · 202422nd percentile
- People with a disability17.5% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
- People without health insurance4.8% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$71,607 · 202436th percentile
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- 30.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.1% · August 20258th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people132.3 · 202552nd percentile
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- 10.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.9% · August 20259th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.5% · August 20259th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score30.2% · second quarter of 202613th 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 Itasca 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 Itasca County, 25.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Itasca County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Itasca County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 33.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Itasca County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Itasca County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 8.5% in 2011 to 10.3% in 2012.
The share of households in Itasca County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 10.7%
Low on the chart: 6.8% 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, Itasca County, Minnesota.
How Itasca County has changed
Itasca County's population rose by about a quarter to 45,442, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 42,123. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Itasca County, Minnesota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Itasca County rose by about a third to 16,444, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 14,133. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Itasca County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.3% | 2025 6.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.3% | 2024 11.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,781 | 2024 $71,607 |
The table uses 6.2% for 2025; the score uses 6.8% 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 Itasca County's history
1849
Boundaries defined 1849 upon creation of Minnesota Territory; originally much larger. Wikipedia
1991
Enbridge Line 3 pipeline spill 1.7 million gallons. Wikipedia
2006
Ainsworth oriented strand board mill ceased operations. Wikipedia
2007
Lightning in June 2007 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 45,058. The 2020 Census counted 45,014, 100% of the peak. Census Bureau
2012
A thunderstorm in July 2012 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1966
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Itasca County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Itasca County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Itasca County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Itasca County ranks 3rd of the six; Aitkin County is highest, at 37.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beltrami County, MN | 54 | 17.3% | 31.1% |
| Itasca County, MN | 37 | 11.0% | 33.2% |
| Aitkin County, MN | 37 | 13.9% | 37.1% |
| St. Louis County, MN | 35 | 12.7% | 27.5% |
| Cass County, MN | 27 | 11.7% | 32.9% |
| Koochiching County, MN | 27 | 13.4% | 36.6% |
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 Itasca County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Itasca County's poverty rate was 11.0% in 2024, 30th 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, Itasca County ranks 8th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Itasca 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.
Download the CSV for Itasca 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 Itasca County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.