In Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Lac qui Parle County, 16.7% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 88% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 89% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lac qui Parle County's score
In Lac qui Parle County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 42.2. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 10.6. People with a car or retail loan behind: 1.9%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lac qui Parle 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.
Lac qui Parle 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.
- 42.2 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 rent22.1% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.7% · fiscal year 202711th percentile
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- 31.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202643rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.5% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
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- 24.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.3% · 202417th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.2% · 202418th percentile
- People with a disability15.5% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- People without health insurance3.8% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,965 · 202433rd percentile
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- 17.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.2% · August 202512th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people75.4 · 202522nd percentile
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- 10.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.5% · August 202518th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.9% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score28.0% · second quarter of 20268th 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 Lac qui Parle 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 Lac qui Parle County, 27.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lac qui Parle County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Lac qui Parle County had its largest rise, from 12.8% in 1979 to 17.6% in 1984.
In Lac qui Parle County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 29.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.1%; 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 Lac qui Parle County getting SNAP food aid doubled to 8.8%, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2022 and 2023
Biggest rise: 2022 to 2023, reaching 8.5%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota.
How Lac qui Parle County has changed
Lac qui Parle County's population had its largest drop, from 10,138 in 1984 to 9,064 in 1989.
Lac qui Parle County's population fell 41% from 1969 to 2024, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 1974 to 1979, reaching 10,759. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota.
The number of jobs located in Lac qui Parle County had its largest drop, from 2,545 in 2010 to 2,277 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Lac qui Parle County was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and is down 16% since
High on the chart: 2,545 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.4% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.1% | 2024 9.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,485 | 2024 $72,965 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Lac qui Parle County's history
1871
Legislature authorized creation March 6, 1871 (approved by local voters), south of Minnesota River. First proposed in 1862 but not approved by local voters. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 15,554. The 2020 Census counted 6,719, 43% of the peak. Census Bureau
1997
A thunderstorm in October 1997 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lac qui Parle County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lac qui Parle County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Lac qui Parle County, in Minnesota and South Dakota, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lac qui Parle County ranks 2nd of the seven; Big Stone County is highest, at 29.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swift County, MN | 44 | 13.2% | 23.4% |
| Chippewa County, MN | 21 | 12.4% | 27.8% |
| Big Stone County, MN | 20 | 12.3% | 29.3% |
| Lac qui Parle County, MN | 10 | 9.3% | 29.1% |
| Yellow Medicine County, MN | 10 | 9.8% | 24.4% |
| Grant County, SD | 3 | 8.6% | 19.0% |
| Deuel County, SD | 0 | 8.6% | 16.3% |
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 Lac qui Parle County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Lac qui Parle County's poverty rate was 9.3% in 2024, 56th 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, Lac qui Parle County ranks 70th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lac qui Parle 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 Lac qui Parle 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 Lac qui Parle County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.