In Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Kandiyohi County, 16.1% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 92% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 83% of U.S. counties.
What drives Kandiyohi County's score
In Kandiyohi County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 52.5. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 19.4. People with a credit card behind: 3.2%, August 2025, lower than in 86% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Kandiyohi 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, Kandiyohi County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.0%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 52.5 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202678th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.9% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
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- 26.6 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 people105 · 202538th percentile
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- 25.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.9% · 202414th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.3% · 202419th percentile
- People with a disability14.3% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- People without health insurance6.4% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$76,575 · 202426th percentile
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- 23.7 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 rent16.4% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.1% · fiscal year 20277th percentile
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- 19.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.2% · August 202513th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.9% · August 202531st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score30.3% · 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 Kandiyohi 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 Kandiyohi County, 20.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Kandiyohi County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Kandiyohi County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 23.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Kandiyohi County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (6.0% in 2009) to 8.0% in 2010.
The share of households in Kandiyohi County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 10.5%
Low on the chart: 6.0% 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, Kandiyohi County, Minnesota.
How Kandiyohi County has changed
Kandiyohi County's population had its largest rise, from 32,206 in 1974 to 35,993 in 1979.
Kandiyohi County's population rose 45% from 1969 to 2024, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1999 to 2004, reaching 41,456. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Kandiyohi County, Minnesota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Kandiyohi County rose 40% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 19,541. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Kandiyohi County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.6% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.8% | 2024 8.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,310 | 2024 $76,575 |
The table uses 4.2% for 2025; the score uses 5.0% 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 Kandiyohi County's history
1977
Willmar 8 strike, 1977-1979. Wikipedia
1985
A tornado in April 1985 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
A thunderstorm in June 2001 did $15 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A tornado in July 2003 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 43,732, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2022
A thunderstorm in May 2022 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Kandiyohi County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Kandiyohi County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Kandiyohi County, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Kandiyohi County ranks 6th of the seven; Chippewa County is highest, at 27.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swift County, MN | 44 | 13.2% | 23.4% |
| Stearns County, MN | 28 | 11.7% | 20.0% |
| Renville County, MN | 25 | 10.8% | 26.1% |
| Meeker County, MN | 25 | 9.3% | 25.3% |
| Chippewa County, MN | 21 | 12.4% | 27.8% |
| Kandiyohi County, MN | 16 | 8.9% | 23.0% |
| Pope County, MN | 16 | 8.6% | 25.4% |
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 Kandiyohi County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Kandiyohi County's poverty rate was 8.9% in 2024, 62nd 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, Kandiyohi County ranks 51st of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Kandiyohi 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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Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota
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 Kandiyohi 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 Kandiyohi County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.