About one in 12 people with a credit file in Lake County, Minnesota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Lake County, 8.1% 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 61% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lake County's score
In Lake County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 75.0. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 20.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lake 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, Lake County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (24.7%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a car or retail loan behind (7.3%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 75.0 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 rent24.7% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.2% · fiscal year 202764th percentile
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- 56.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202673rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.1% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
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- 33.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.1% · August 202512th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.3% · August 202576th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.4% · second quarter of 202611th percentile
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- 30.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.0% · 202422nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.8% · 202421st percentile
- People with a disability16.6% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- People without health insurance4.9% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$73,427 · 202432nd percentile
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- 20.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector8.1% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people101.3 · 202536th 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 Lake 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 Lake County, 27.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lake County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Lake County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 31.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Lake County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lake County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 6.8% in 2022 to 8.4% in 2023.
The share of households in Lake County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2021, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 5.9% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lake County, Minnesota.
How Lake County has changed
Lake County's population had its largest drop, from 12,868 in 1979 to 11,624 in 1984.
Lake County's population fell by about a fifth from 1969 to 2024, reaching 10,698
High on the chart: 13,344 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lake County, Minnesota.
The number of jobs located in Lake County had its largest drop, from 4,210 in 2015 to 3,665 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Lake County rose by about a fifth from 1990 to 2025, reaching 4,000
High on the chart: 4,237 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lake County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.6% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.2% | 2024 10.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,709 | 2024 $73,427 |
The table uses 4.2% for 2025; the score uses 4.8% 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 Lake County's history
1868
Iron ore discovered on Vermilion Range, 1868. Wikipedia
1960
The county's largest recorded population was the 1960 Census count of 13,702. The 2020 Census counted 10,905, 80% of the peak. Census Bureau
1996
Lightning in June 1996 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A thunderstorm in July 2003 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
A flash flood in June 2012 did $1.9 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A thunderstorm in July 2016 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
Greenwood Fire burned 10,500 acres southwest of Isabella, 2021. Wikipedia
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Since 1972
12 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lake County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lake County beside its neighbors
Lake County scores higher than all two counties that border it. Of the group, Lake County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (31.0%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake County, MN | 38 | 10.0% | 31.0% |
| St. Louis County, MN | 35 | 12.7% | 27.5% |
| Cook County, MN | 11 | 9.8% | 25.5% |
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 Lake County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Lake County's poverty rate was 10.0% in 2024, 46th 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, Lake County ranks 7th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lake 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.
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 Lake County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.